Saint-Gobain North America, through its building products subsidiary CertainTeed Roofing, has acquired the rights to technology from recycling partner Asphaltica that will allow the company to recycle asphalt shingle waste, diverting it from landfill and furthering the company’s commitment to creating a circular economy in its production of roofing shingles.

The proprietary technology from Asphaltica will allow Saint-Gobain to pelletize both post-industrial and post-consumer shingle waste. This process creates pellets out of ground shingles that blend well in hot mix asphalt and are an ideal component in an asphalt paving mix. In addition, the pellets are highly water resistant and can be used in variable climate conditions.

The ambitious initiative comes as Saint-Gobain continues to implement its global Grow and Impact strategy, which includes reducing waste and increasing the circularity of raw materials in its production processes, allowing Saint-Gobain to achieve a net zero carbon footprint by 2050. In addition, this proven technology will help the company contribute to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturing Association’s (ARMA) goals to reduce landfill disposal of asphalt-based roofing materials to 50% by 2035 and to approach 0% by 2050.   

“By taking an innovative approach and embracing new technologies, Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Roofing are making strides to maximize our positive impact while minimizing our environmental footprint,” said Carmen Bodden, Vice President of CertainTeed Roofing. “CertainTeed takes our sustainability commitments seriously. The Asphaltica technology is proven and will help us achieve our goal of keeping shingle manufacturing waste across our network out of landfills.”

Asphaltica principals Bill Dempsey, PE and Bill Bailey, PhD, experts in paving and bitumen with over 40 years of experience, will continue to support landfill diversion efforts with CertainTeed.

“It was important to me personally to partner with an organization that has the global vision and resources to do big things, and that is why I am so proud to partner with Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed.” said Bill Bailey, CEO of Asphaltica. “Their commitment to sustainability is unmatched and I look forward to working with their roofing team as they continue their work to be leaders in light and sustainable construction.”

“Replacing virgin asphalt in asphalt paving with properly treated recycled asphalt products is both economical and sustainable,” said Bill Dempsey, President of Asphaltica. “By using the pelletizing process of asphalt shingles at the end of life, our companies will provide recycled, environmentally friendly, paving grade materials for paving projects large and small.”

The launch of this partnership follows several other recent actions taken by the company to solidify its commitment towards sustainability, including the announcement of a circular economy program in California, where Saint-Gobain Sekurit’s automotive glass facility in Garden Grove is recycling waste automotive windshield glass and sending it to CertainTeed Insulation’s facility in Chowchilla to be used in the production of fiberglass insulation.

With over 140 manufacturing locations in the United States, every current and future member of the company’s team plays a vital role in achieving its sustainability goals. A current list of job openings at all Saint-Gobain locations can be found on the company’s careers website.