Our Planet

Product Circularity: Closing the Loop on Shingle Waste

About 75% of U.S. roofs are asphalt and each year millions of torn off asphalt shingles end up in landfills. Closing the loop on shingle waste and diverting used shingles from landfills is a transformative opportunity for our industry and one GAF is proud to be leading. We have the roofing industry’s first, patented process to reclaim 90% of shingle waste, repurposing it into new recycled content shingles, creating Timberline HDZ ® RoofCycle™ Series Shingles. In 2022, we made exciting progress with the successful production of two million square feet (20,000 squares) of the new recycled content shingles. The effort enabled GAF to divert one million pounds of waste from landfill for reuse in the manufacture of new shingles that meet the same performance standards as other Timberline products.

With this innovation GAF is introducing a significant opportunity to divert the 13 million tons of shingle waste that enter landfills every year in the U.S. By incorporating recycled asphalt material, known as briquettes, in the production of new roofing shingles, as well as other asphalt-based products the industry can be part of redirecting end-of-life shingles to support the creation of new, sustainable products. GAF is committed to diverting 1 million tons of roofing materials from landfills each year which will include incorporating recycled asphalt content into GAF shingle products. GAF has also donated enough recycled asphalt shingles to reroof 500 homes with its nonprofit partners in 2022 as part of GAF Community Matters.

One of the biggest contributors to our footprint is the products, goods and services we purchase to manufacture our products. This includes asphalt, a raw material derived from fossil fuels. A critical way we are working to address that is by scaling access to our patented recycled asphalt shingles. By increasing the amount of recycled asphalt used in shingles - and other building products - we can begin to reduce the amount of virgin asphalt needed in construction.