Sika Sarnafil has won the Plastics Recycling Technologies and Applications Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers. Sika's PVC recycling program is designed to recover and recycle vinyl-roofing membrane back into new roofing membrane at the end of its useful life.
The award was presented at the society’s Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC 2011) in Atlanta, and distinguishes the program that was recognized by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in 2009. Sika Sarnafil is the only single ply roofing manufacturer with a program to recycle old roofs back into roofing membrane at the end of its useful life and the only company to have its recycling claims verified by UL Environment. Since 2004, Sika Sarnafil has recycled 27.4 million pounds of post-industrial vinyl and 852,000 pounds of post-consumer, old roofs since 2005.
“Sika Sarnafil continues to address energy conservation issues with this ground breaking resource recovery program,” said Brian Whelan, Senior Vice President, Sika Sarnafil. “We divert more than 98% of our vinyl raw materials from the waste stream by recycling them into roofing and waterproofing membranes. And, we make it easy for customers to achieve their sustainability goals, with energy-efficient solutions that minimize waste and environmental impact.”
Sika Sarnafil’s major roof recycling projects include:
- Canadian Tire in Toronto – This project demonstrated Canadian Tire’s green policy and implemented the three “R’s of Green” – reduce, reuse, recycle
- General Motors – In a real-world demonstration of “closed loop” recycling, Sika Sarnafil completed the largest vinyl roof recycling project in North America at a General Motors Customer Care & Aftersales building in Lansing, Mich.
- Target – Numerous stores, including a retail center in Silver Spring, Md., have worked with Sika Sarnafil. This roof recycling project contributed to the goal of helping Target to become a “zero waste” company
- The Burlington Coat Factory – A 120,000 sf roof portion of the Briggsmore Shopping Center in Modesto, Calif. was replaced with a new Sika Sarnafil system while the old roof will live on and be recycled into other Sika Sarnafil products.
- University of Iowa, Hawkeye Arena – Always looking for opportunities to recycle materials that would otherwise end up in the landfill, the university was very excited about recycling its old roofing membranes
- The Marriott Long Wharf Hotel on Boston Harbor – Sika Sarnafil’s first major roofing recycling project in North America in 2005, this project kicked off Sika Sarnafil’s roof recycling program.
The program is streamlined and simple, making it easy for contractors and building owners to participate. Sika ships containers and pallets to contractors free of charge. The recycled materials are simply loaded and turned over to Sika for processing. Contractor labor costs related to recycling are minimal, if any, and are often offset by savings in municipal disposal fees. BD+C
Related Stories
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
| May 17, 2011
The New Orleans master plan
At an afternoon panel during last week's AIA National Conference in New Orleans, Goody Clancy Principal David Dixon and Manning Principal W. Raymond Manning shared their experiences creating the New Orleans Master Plan, a document that sets a new course for the city, from land use and transportation planning to environmental protection.
| May 17, 2011
Do these buildings look like buffalo to you?
It’s hard to contemplate winter now that we’re mid-spring, but when the seasons change, ice skaters in Winnipeg will be able to keep warm in plywood shelters designed by Patkau Architects. The designers created temporary shelters inspired by animal behavior—specifically, buffalo bracing against the wind. Check them out.
| May 16, 2011
USGBC and AIA unveil report for greening K-12 schools
The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects unveiled "Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Special Report from Sundance," which outlines a five-point national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives.
| May 16, 2011
Dassault Systèmes to distribute Gehry Technologies’ digital project
Dassault Systèmes and Gehry Technologies announced that Gehry Technologies’ Digital Project products will be integrated into the Dassault Systèmes’ portfolio and distributed through Dassault Systèmes. Digital Project is a suite of 3D BIM applications created by Gehry Technologies using Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA as a core modeling engine.
| May 11, 2011
DOE releases guide for 50% more energy-efficient office buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the release of the first in a new series of Advanced Energy Design Guides to aid in the design of highly energy efficient office buildings. The 50% AEDG series will provide a practical approach to commercial buildings designed to achieve 50% energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many areas of the country.
| May 10, 2011
Google hires Ingenhoven Architects to design new Mountain View office
The current Googleplex is straining at the seams and yet the company is preparing its biggest hiring surge ever, so Google decided now’s the time to build its own office space—a first for the Internet giant. The company hired Ingenhoven Architects, a German firm that specializes in sustainable architecture, to create plans for what could be a 600,000-sf office.
| May 10, 2011
Solar installations on multifamily rooftops aid social change
The Los Angeles Business Council's study on the feasibility of installing solar panels on the city’s multifamily buildings shows there's tremendous rooftop capacity, and that a significant portion of that rooftop capacity comes from buildings in economically depressed neighborhoods. Solar installations could therefore be used to create jobs, lower utility costs, and improve conditions for residents in these neighborhood.
| May 10, 2011
Dinner is now served…atop the Lincoln Memorial?
Take a look at the temporary restaurant sitting atop Brussels’ historic Arc de Triomphe-Triomfboog. The Cube, by Electrolux, offers 18 diners a spectacular view of the Parc du Cinquantenair, and is one of two structures traveling across Europe, making stops at famous landmarks in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, and Russia. What do you think about one of these 60-tonne structures being placed on a U.S. memorial?
