Certificate of Environmental Responsibility from WDG
Share:
Certificate of Environmental Responsibility from WDG Recognizes
Organizations for Sustainable Roofing Practices
LaGrange, Ohio, (August 21, 2009) - West Development Group (WDG), a leader in
sustainable roofing products and practices, recently implemented a program that recognizes
building owners who recycle EPDM rubber roofing membrane. Through the program, WDG is
partnering with organizations to implement sustainable roofing practices by recycling EPDM
roofs to keep them out of landfills. Participating organizations - from municipalities to owners
of commercial buildings and residential apartments - can receive a "Certificate of
Environmental Responsibility" in recognition of their environmental practices.
WDG has presented over 50 organizations with "Certificate of Environmental Responsibility"
certificates.
The Columbus Dispatch, a newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio, is a recent example of this
successful recycling program. When the Dispatch's paper warehouse needed a new roof,
Kevin George, the paper's director of engineering and maintenance, contacted WDG about
recycling 42,000 square feet of old roofing. WDG retrieved the old roofing membrane and
cryogenically ground it into functional fillers designed to enhance the physical properties of
new roofing systems.
In
addition to the certificate presented to The Columbus Dispatch from WDG, the newspaper
was also presented with a 2009 Emerald Award from The Solid Waste Authority of Central
Ohio (SWACO) for recycling the old roofing with WDG and keeping the 42,000 square feet of
demolition debris out of the Franklin County Landfill.
"The competition for this award was formidable, but we were fortunate to discover the WDG
EPDM roof recycling program," Mr. George explained. "Other rubber recycling companies
were not interested in our EPDM, preferring tires for recycling because - they said - EPDM
had too much elasticity and was too resilient to grind."
Those are exactly the properties WDG is looking for and EPDM is the only rubber the
company recycles.
WDG begins the recycling process with sheets of EPDM obtained from roof tear-offs. Waste
companies are paid to haul away the EPDM, but WDG, in some cases - depending upon the
size of load and distance to be transported - takes it away free of charge, benefiting the
building owner and the environment.
WDG's System 14(TM) is an environmentally friendly roofing system that uses recycled EPDM
and eliminates petroleum-based solvents. A silicone topcoat is sprayed over a spray
polyurethane foam (SPF) to create a seamless, self-flashing seal. A soy-based SPF is also
available for additional environmental benefits. WDG introduced the R2R(TM)(Roof-to-Roof)
recycling process and is now the only roof system manufacturer to use recycled EPDM to
strengthen and enhance the physical properties of the silicone topcoat.
R2R products containing the recycled Columbus Dispatch EPDM roof have been used for
new, long-term warranty roof systems at 11 buildings, including a water treatment plant,
schools, universities, health care centers, correctional facilities, industrial and commercial
buildings, as well as residential apartment buildings.
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that over a billion square feet
(185,000 tons) of EPDM roofing is removed and put into landfills every year. That is
equivalent to 33,000 40-yard dumpsters or over 120,000 full-size cars.
Currently, the pulverized EPDM is used exclusively for WDG products. The company is
planning to sell EPDM mesh to other manufacturers that make new products from recycled
rubber, such as building products, flooring, footwear, tires, epoxies and sealants, to name a
few.
For more information about WDG's "Certificate of Environmental Responsibility" award and
the EPDM recycling program, or other roofing products from West Development Group,
please call WDG at 440-355-4682 or toll-free at 1-866-924-4585. Email
info@wdgsilicones.com. Visit the WDG Web site at www.wdgsilicones.com.
