‘Recycled’ Roof Solutions for the Eco-Conscious Home Owner

If you’re looking to upgrade your property’s roof and you’re looking for something that’s as easy on the planet as it is on your budget, here are some options you might like to consider:

Green Roof

This is a unique environmental initiative for improving outdoor air quality while enhancing urban landscapes and communities. A green roof is an alternative roofing concept which can be achieved by growing a low-lying, specifically designed roof garden. Green roofs also absorb solar radiation and carbon dioxide, making them a safer environment for the property's inhabitants, while increasing your home’s market value.

Rubber Shingles

Using the latest technology, plastic bags, rubber tyres and other recycled materials, are transformed into roofing which is durable and long-lasting. Not only are recycled tyre roof shingles considerably lighter and cheaper than the standard roofing materials, they are excellent insulators, can withstand 80 mph winds and can complement your home’s character perfectly.

Recycled Metal Roofing

Metal roofing, otherwise known as a ‘Cool Roof’, is another excellent example of alternative roofing for the environmentally conscious. These steel roofs are a great choice for home owners in hotter climes as they can make a considerable difference to energy bills. And metal roofing naturally repels light rays reducing the overall indoor temperature of the home. The amount of recyclable material in a metal roof can vary considerably according to the product manufacturer, so it’s worth shopping around to find the most eco-conscious solution for you.

Solar Power PV Shingles

Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar cells which harness the power of the sun without the need for bulky solar panels. Resembling typical asphalt shingles, solar shingles first became commercially available in 2005 and are popular for their aesthetic appeal as well as their functionality.

And a couple of Eco options you possibly hadn’t considered:

In Pernambuco, Brazil, toothpaste tubes are recycled into eco-friendly roof tiles. The aluminium and plastic tubes are crushed by machines, combined with resins and ‘baked’ at high temperatures, to produce light and water-resistant boards and sheets that are used as building materials.

Some forty thousand tiles are manufactured monthly, each one made from 1,000 empty toothpaste tubes. The tiles are highly weather resistant and more cost-effective than tiles made of clay, steel or aluminium. They do not conduct heat and are less noisy than metal in inclement weather!

The UK’s first nappy-recycling plant opened in Birmingham in 2010. Almost three billion disposable nappies end up in landfill sites each year and the plastic from this unlikely source is now transformed into roof tiles, decking and cladding!

Why Architects, House Builders and Roofing Contractors Should Recommend Plastic Roof Tiles to Their Clients

Given that there is an ongoing requirement for plastics in the construction industry, coupled with the need to balance that requirement to comply with the latest Government legislation, it makes sense for house builders and contractors to utilise recycled and recyclable materials wherever practicable.

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) website states that:

‘All plastics can be recycled, however the extent to which they are recycled depends upon both economic and logistic factors. As a valuable and finite resource, the optimum use for most plastic after its first use, is to be recycled, preferably into a product that can be recycled again.’
The benefits of recycling plastics are:

• Less used plastic going to landfill.
• Less oil used for plastic production.
• Less energy consumed.

Where previously, house builders and roofing contractors may have steered away from using eco-friendly alternatives to traditional slate and concrete, due to performance issues of strength and reliability, now that choice has become significantly more attractive, thanks to the invention of Envirotile – a roofing tile with the greenest credentials, which radically outperforms traditional roofing materials.

Envirotile, the UK’s first commercially-available roof tile made entirely from recycled plastics, is five times stronger than conventional roof tiles. Yet it is 80 per cent lighter, making it easier to manoeuvre and align. As you would imagine, this drastically reduces the risks associated with manual handling at height – a boon for roofing contractors. And of course, if any materials should accidentally be dropped from height, plastic tiling reduces the hazardous consequences for those on the ground.
In addition to the major Health & Safety advantages, on average, Envirotile is estimated to reduce a contractor’s fitting time by 25 per cent – a considerable time-saving in the working day.

As well as making every roofing job less labour intensive, Envirotile effectively reduces the carbon footprint of every building project the contractor undertakes. And these days, with more consumers demanding ‘green credentials’ that’s an impressive boast for your company’s marketing literature.

In addition, Envirotile will help you meet the requirements of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Envirotile is easy to fit, economic to employ – and of course – aesthetically pleasing on the eye.

With less chance of breakages and no wastage of materials, Envirotile is the perfect roofing solution for today’s eco-conscious house builder, concerned with leaving a lasting impression.