Michigan Recycler Raising the Roof

In a news release, Ideal Recycling says it expects to divert some 15,000 tons of asphalt shingles from Michigan landfills this year. The company supplies its finely ground mix to paving companies that use it in asphalt mixes used in parking lots and private roads.

The company was started by Chris Edwards, 37, and Todd Foster, 36. Edwards had been a tool and die maker in the automotive industry who, after being laid off four times, decided to use those skills in a new occupation. In 2006, he and his friend Todd Foster decided to join the ranks of green entrepreneurs in Michigan.

According to Michigan specifications, asphalt companies may use up to 5 percent recycled asphalt in hot asphalt mix. At the current time, recycled asphalt is not approved for use in public roadways, but Edwards and Foster hope that will change in the future, particularly with concerns about the environment and the rising cost of oil.

“We are hopeful that more and more home owners and contractors will realize that keeping shingles out of landfills and reusing the material for roads is a winning proposition for everyone,” says Foster, who sold his waste hauling business, Midway Disposal, to help start Ideal Recycling. “Our hope is that Michigan will follow the lead of environmentally-progressive East and West Coast states in considering banning these materials from landfills altogether.”

Ideal has the permitted capacity to recycle 52,000 tons of shingles per year. The company accepts tear-off shingles from homes and apartments or condos with four units or less and charges a per-ton tipping fee of $18 to $20, depending on the cleanliness of the load. The cost is typically less than the cost to dump them in a landfill, according to the Ideal news release.

The company currently accepts asphalt shingles for recycling, but in the future it plans to add staff and expand into other recycling areas including tires, drywall, glass and other building materials.

Ideal Recycling is part of what some planners foresee as a reuse, recycling and green business

corridor along Eight Mile Road in the city of Southfield, according to Michael Csapo, general manager of the Resource, Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRASOC).

“What Ideal is doing is not just important for the environment, but also for Michigan’s economy,” says Csapo. “When you think about how many jobs and value-added activities will be provided, Ideal really is part of the growing green economy in Michigan.”