For more than 10 years, the European vinyl roofing manufacturers have been blazing the trail toward a robust post-consumer vinyl roof recycling infrastructure. And now, riding on the notable success of vinyl roof material reclamation pilot projects and the incorporation of new equipment for material processing, their North American counterparts are poised to bring post-consumer vinyl roof recycling into the mainstream.

For several years, a trend toward energy-efficient roof technology has been emerging in design and construction circles. Cool roofing evolved as a means to help keep buildings cooler and make them more energy efficient.

Common sense tells us that a low-slope refl ective roofi ng system should improve a building’s energy effi ciency and save money on energy costs versus a black roof. After all, in full sun, the surface of a black roof may experience a temperature rise of as much as 90 degrees Fahrenheit, reaching mid-day temperatures of 150 to 190 degrees.