10 Years = Almost 10 MILLION Pounds of Synthetic Scrap Reprocessed
In celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd, we’re celebrating a milestone at DaVinci Roofscapes! Through our successful recycling efforts during the past 10 years we’ve reprocessed more than 9.2 million pounds of synthetic scrap materials.
Where does all that scrap come from? The efforts of our operations in Kansas! Just in 2021, our DaVinci team members found a way to recycle 1,146,902 pounds of polymer waste.
“Each year we calculate these numbers to showcase our dedication to net zero landfill scrap,” says Mark Pagel, our general manager at DaVinci Roofscapes. “This is the fifth consecutive year we achieved this status.”
What is Synthetic Scrap Used For?
At DaVinci, every pound of scrap we produce goes into repurposed product. The 1.1-plus million pounds of scrap reprocessed in 2021 went into starter shingles and other pieces. Traditionally, these pieces are not seen on a roof.
“Through an injection process, reprocessed scrap goes into the underside of the cavity of some accessory roofing parts,” says Pagel. “This is just one way our team works to keep waste product out of landfills.
“In addition, our Process Engineering team has been hard at work. They’ve developed new methods and tooling that uses reprocessed scrap material in solid accessory parts.”
How is Scrap Generated?
Green initiatives are important to us at DaVinci. Our successful recycling efforts assure synthetic scrap from making roofing tiles is recycled back into our manufacturing operations.
“We make our composite roofing tiles with virgin polymers,” says Pagel. “These come in dozens of colors and color blends. When we switch from one color to another, there’s a natural transitioning period between the colors. Those transition tiles are ‘off spec’ and cannot be used. Therefore, we recycle them.”
Pagel says that transition tiles are carefully pulled off the product line. Employees segregate them into specifically colored scrap bins.
We then grind up the tiles and repurpose them into starter tiles. These are generally not seen on a roof. In the past year, the reground product has also been used in the underside of the cavity on solid accessory parts. On these pieces, virgin resins are used on the top visible portion of the product.
Meeting the Test of Time
Along with virgin resins, we make our DaVinci slate and shake tiles with UV and thermal stabilizers. We also add a highly-specialized fire retardant to the mix, making them fire-resistant. Our DaVinci products are warranted to last for decades on homes and commercial projects. However, after their lifespan, they are also 100 percent recyclable.
Made for authentic beauty and low maintenance, all DaVinci products resist splitting, cracking and curling. They also resist fading from the sun and high winds. Even better, mold, algae, fungus and insects don’t grow or feed on the shingles. Best of all, our composite tiles serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to real wood shakes, natural slate tiles and plastic siding.
All our DaVinci composite products are Class A fire and Class 4 impact rated. They are certified by ASTM D 3161to straight line winds up to 110 mph. In addition, they are certified for hurricane high-velocity winds up to 180 mph. DaVinci products meet code restrictions for use by Miami-Dade County, FL NOA, HVHZ (TAS 125, up to 180 mph) and CA Title 24. They also meet Texas Dept. of Insurance, WUI 4175 and CCMC14094-R restrictions.