DaVinci Recycles 1.3 Million Pounds of Polymer Scrap in 2023
As the country marks Earth Day 2024, DaVinci Roofscapes is marking a milestone of its own. During the past 12 years DaVinci, a division of Westlake Royal Building Products™, has reprocessed more than 12.2 million pounds of polymer scrap.
In 2023, 666,378 pounds of reprocessed product were repelletized and used to make starter roofing tiles which are made of close to 100 percent recycled internal material. An additional 640,282 pounds were sold to outside sources for use in the construction of other products. One of the companies buying scrap from DaVinci is Westlake Dimex, which uses the post-industrial waste to make exterior landscaping products.
Zero Waste Always a Top Goal
At DaVinci, every pound of polyethylene scrap generated by the company’s expansive manufacturing operation goes into repurposed product. Green initiatives are always being enhanced to assure scrap from making roofing tiles is recycled. The first priority is to reuse the product at the Lenexa operations.
“We make our composite roofing and siding tiles with virgin polymers,” says Mark Pagel, general manager at DaVinci Roofscapes. “Our products are created in dozens of colors and color blends.
“When we switch from one color to another, there’s a natural transitioning period between the colors during the change. Those transition tiles are ‘off spec’ and cannot be used, so we recycle them.”
Pagel relates that the transition tiles are carefully pulled off the product line. They’re segregated into specifically colored scrap bins. In the past year, 666,378 pounds of these colored tiles were ground up and repurposed into starter roofing tiles, which are generally unseen on the roof. The reground product was also inserted into the underside cavity on solid accessory roofing parts, with virgin resins used on the top visible portion of the product.
The remainder of the recycled product was shipped out of the DaVinci facility for use by other companies. Some use them to make landscaping materials and pallets.
Why Recycled Polymers Are Valuable
DaVinci slate and shake tiles are made of virgin resins, UV and thermal stabilizers. A highly specialized fire retardant is added to the mix, making them fire resistant. DaVinci products are warranted to last decades on homes and commercial projects. However, after their lifespan, they are also 100 percent recyclable. These same features make the recycled polymers advantageous when they are used in recycled products.
Made for realistic beauty, high performance and low maintenance, DaVinci products resist splitting, cracking, curling and fading. Each polyethylene tile has been crafted to resist high winds, mold, algae, fungus and insects.
DaVinci composite products are Class A fire and Class 4 impact rated. They are certified by ASMD 3161 to straight line winds up to 110 mph and hurricane high velocity winds up to 180 mph.
Manufactured at the DaVinci Roofscapes facility in Kansas, the composite shake siding and roofing tiles are made with color throughout each piece and require no painting. The composite tiles serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to real wood shakes, natural slate tiles and plastic siding.
Learn more about how DaVinci recycles and our entire manufacturing process in our virtual plant tour.