Duro-Last Inc., was recognized with the Excellence in Recycling Award by the Michigan Recycling Coalition at their annual conference in May. The award is given every year to one Michigan organization that shows leadership and excellence in recycling and waste diversion.
 
“Duro-Last has demonstrated its commitment to recycling and sustainable materials management in a number of ways,” said Kerrin O’Brien, Michigan Recycling Coalition executive director.  “However, their work with Oscoda Plastics Inc.  to recycle roofing materials into new products through their take back program is very unique, and that’s where the magic is.”
 
Sustainability and environmental awareness have been a part of the Duro-Last culture for more than 20 years, when founder John R. Burt introduced the idea of recycling manufacturing scrap and aged roofing materials into resilient flooring. Those efforts have since grown into the products known today as Protect-All flooring, Roof Trak walkway pads and Proflex concrete expansion joints. Duro-Last is also committed to decreasing landfill waste in all manufacturing and corporate facilities by:

• Removing Styrofoam cups, eliminating the waste of more than 40,000 disposable cups annually.
• Introducing recycling stations that accept 15 different material types. During the first year of the program, recycling volume increased 52 percent.
• Installing water bottle filling stations that saved over 61,000 water bottles in less than one year – enough to fill 82 Gaylord boxes or 2 full semi-trucks.

 
“Duro-Last is committed to reducing our environmental impact and finding inventive ways to reuse our manufacturing byproducts,” explained Duro-Last Sustainability Specialist Katie Chapman. “We’ve been putting focused effort into these recycling initiatives for a while, and it’s an honor to have those efforts recognized by the Michigan Recycling Coalition.”
 
The Michigan Recycling Coalition was started almost 30 years ago by a group of passionate individuals who shared a vision to advance resource conservation issues throughout the state. It is governed by a 15 member Board of Directors representing public, private and nonprofit agencies across Michigan. They are dedicated to fostering sustainability by leading, educating, and mobilizing business, government, non-profit, and individuals to advance their own and collective resource use and recovery initiatives in Michigan.

To learn more about the Michigan Recycling Coalition, visit their website at http://www.michiganrecycles.org.