This week I met with Todd Foster and Chris Edwards of Ideal Recycling in Southfield, Mich. Ideal expects to keep more than 15,000 tons of asphalt shingles out of landfills this year alone. The shingles are ground up and re-used by asphalt companies, which can use up to 5 percent recycled asphalt in hot asphalt mix used for paving roads and parking lots.

This week I met with Todd Foster and Chris Edwards of Ideal Recycling in Southfield, Mich. Ideal expects to keep more than 15,000 tons of asphalt shingles out of landfills this year alone. The shingles are ground up and re-used by asphalt companies, which can use up to 5 percent recycled asphalt in hot asphalt mix used for paving roads and parking lots.

The benefits to the environment are obvious, but the benefits to contractors are pretty clear, too. Ideal charges contractors less than they’d pay at the landfill, so they can save money while promoting themselves to customers as green businesses.

Ideal isn’t the first shingle recycler out there, but they’re off to a great start, and hopefully this type of thinking will catch on around the country. People talk about “win-win” situations all the time, but a business that keeps asphalt shingles out of landfills and saves contractors money at the same time sounds like a real-life example. Not a bad way to make a living.

I’m preparing a more in-depth story on the company for a future issue of Roofing Contractor, so keep an eye out for more details or visitwww.idealrecycling.comfor more information.