Wisconsin county discontinues shingle recycling

Wisconsin’s Manitowoc County shingle recycling site has closed. The recycling center blamed a sharp decline in the number of shingles delivered to the site as the main reason for shutting down the operations.

The county began collecting shingles following storms in the spring of 2013. According to the county, during the 2013 roofing season the site took in an average of 200 tons of shingles per week. The following year the volume of shingles delivered to the recycling center dropped to less than 50 tons per week. The county notes that the volume is less than the estimated amounts that shingle recyclers expected to see after the storm repairs were made.

The shingle recycling site diverted about 4,435 tons of shingles from the landfill for use in road asphalt, which saved customers an estimated $70,000 compared to landfilling their shingles.

The site also recycled smaller amounts of vinyl siding, scrap metal and cardboard from roofing projects. The county’s shingle recycling site was managed by Forward Vision Environmental Service and was permitted through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The permit included a full site cleanup plan, which Forward Vision Environmental completed. The stages undertaken in planning, permitting, contracting, approving and preparing the shingle recycling site also will be retained as tool for disaster cleanup preparedness, the release indicated.