Kingspan Insulated Panels North America announces it is on pace for a 50% reduction in waste sent to landfills by the end of the year for its five manufacturing sites in North America. As part of the company’s global Planet Passionate program, the goal is to eliminate waste to landfills entirely by 2030.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris were generated in 2018, more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste. Diverting waste from landfills improves recycling, cuts down on the environmental impact of additional landfill and waste facilities and conserves landfill space.

At its DeLand, Florida, facility, Kingspan has partnered with a waste recycling company for a pilot program to ensure 100% of its waste is repurposed and/or recycled. The DeLand plant is on track to exceed that 50% reduction target in waste by the end of 2021.

The DeLand manufacturing floor uses nine color-coded streams in order to facilitate easy recycling. One of the most challenging materials to recycle is foam, a large component of insulated metal panels. Through a local partnership, the DeLand plant’s foam scrap is now being upcycled into filler for epoxy countertops and exterior siding material. Kingspan is now replicating the recycling program, finding local partnerships to upcycle foam scrap at its manufacturing facilities in Caledon, Ontario, Columbus, Ohio, and Modesto, California.

At Kingspan’s plant in Langley, British Columbia, mineral fiber panel scrap accounts for nearly half the waste generated. In addition to recycling panel scrap, Kingspan has a short-term waste-to-energy program to divert general waste from landfills with plans to find a more permanent solution for upcycling and recycling. Waste-to-energy results in a reduction of waste piling up in landfills. Combustion generates cleaner renewable energy sources than fossil fuel, and cuts methane release from landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Waste reduction was once our biggest challenge, and now, it’s one of our biggest success stories. We are regularly reassessing our operations in order to meet Kingspan’s zero waste to landfill goal by 2030,” said Kingspan Director of Sustainability Brent Trenga. “Planet Passionate is Kingspan’s commitment to do its part to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect our natural world.”

Kingspan has implemented a variety of measures to improve circularity at other facilities, such as upcycling PET plastic water bottles at its Modesto plant to manufacture its QuadCore® closed-cell insulation core. Other efforts include relying on clean power sources, including wind and solar.

To learn more about Kingspan, visit www.kingspanpanels.us.