Can you recycle asphalt shingles in Maryland?

Key takeaways

• Recycled shingles become road asphalt, cold patch and base material.
• Recyclers need clean loads: shingles only, no wood, trash or metal flashing.
• Asphalt shingles weigh about 731 lb/yd³; 18 squares is about 2.6 tons.
• Baltimore County's Eastern Sanitary takes 2 yd³ max of shingles at $200/ton.
• Montgomery County's transfer station stopped taking shingles July 1, 2021.

How do asphalt shingles get recycled?

They're ground to a set size, cleaned of nails and wood, and mixed into new asphalt or used as cold patch and road base.

Connecticut's environment department lists the common uses: an additive in hot-mix asphalt, cold patch for potholes, temporary roads and parking lots, aggregate base and dust control. Magnets pull out nails, and wood from sheathing is picked out by hand or floated off. An EPA study found shingles contain about 19 to 36 percent asphalt cement, which is why paving plants want them: it replaces some of the new binder.

The scale is big. The National Association of Home Builders estimates 7 to 10 million tons of shingle tear-off and installation scrap are generated in the US each year.

Where can I recycle shingles in Maryland?

Options are limited. Maryland allows recycled asphalt shingles in state asphalt mixes, but the industry's guide notes that only manufacturer scrap was allowed in those mixes and that producer use is low.

That means tear-off shingles from your roof usually need a private processor that accepts them, and those come and go. Montgomery County's transfer station stopped accepting shingles and roofing of any kind on July 1, 2021, and refers residents to private facilities in places like Elkridge and Jessup and to the Baltimore City Landfill. Those sites accept roofing waste; that doesn't mean every one recycles it. Call and ask before you load.

Roofers running regular volume should ask processors about clean-load rates. Our roofer program is built around tear-off hauling.

When you call, ask four things: do you take residential tear-off, what does a clean load have to look like, is it priced by the ton or by the load, and are you open Saturday. Write down who you talked to; acceptance rules at private sites can change.

What does it cost to dump shingles instead?

At C&D rates, an 18-square tear-off in a 7x14 dump trailer costs about $263 to $355 depending on the county.

One square of single-layer tear-off is about 0.4 cubic yard, so a 7x14 holds about 18 squares (about 7.2 yd³). At 731 lb per cubic yard, that's about 5,260 lb, or 2.6 tons, inside the trailer's 9,820-lb payload. A 6x12 holds about 11 squares, about 3,220 lb, inside its 6,800-lb payload.

Landfill fees, hours and rules are set by each county or site and can change without notice. We don't control them; call the site before you go.

For a whole-roof plan, see how many dump trailer loads is a roof tear-off.

What makes a load recyclable?

Shingles only. Recyclers need loads they can grind without picking out trash.

• Keep out: plywood and sheathing, gutters, flashing, trash, plastic, tarps and drink bottles.
• Ask about: nails and felt. Magnets handle nails, and felt is part of the shingle stream, but each processor sets its own rules.
• Load separately: if you're tearing off sheathing too, put it in a second load or a separate trailer.
• Tarp it. Granules and shingle tabs blow off at highway speed.

Even if you end up landfilling, a clean shingle-only load is easier to dump and easier to price.

How should a roofer plan a shingle-only load?

Plan each trailer by squares and layers, and keep sheathing out of the shingle trailer.

Example only: two layers roughly double the volume, and wet shingles weigh more. If you're also replacing plywood, put it in a second trailer so the shingle load stays clean for a recycler, or so at least one load is simple at the scale. A second 7x14 on site also means the crew never waits on a dump run.

Do old shingles contain asbestos?

Rarely, but it happens: in an EPA-cited dataset of over 27,000 shingle samples, about 1.5 percent tested as asbestos-containing, often from mastic or coatings.

Manufacturers report phasing asbestos out of shingles by the mid-1970s to early 1980s, so older roofs and old patch material carry the risk. The Maryland Department of the Environment says homeowners can remove non-friable asbestos roofing shingles on their own single-family home if they aren't badly broken in removal, and that a licensed asbestos contractor is required when a contractor will cut, abrade, sand or grind 5,850 square feet or more of roofing. Either way, call the landfill first: some don't accept non-friable asbestos, and those that do need approval before you haul.

How do roofers keep shingle disposal cheap?

Stage the trailer where you can throw straight from the roof edge, keep loads clean, and match trailer count to the job.

Contractors pay before each rental like everyone else, with a card on file; there are no net terms. Set up on the contractors page, and see how roofers cut tear-off disposal costs for more.

Questions

Sources

• Connecticut DEEP: Asphalt shingles
• US EPA Region 8: Analysis of recycling of asphalt shingles in pavement mixes (2013)
• ShingleRecycling.org (CDRA): Maryland
• Montgomery County DEP: Shingle and roofing material
• Maryland Department of the Environment: Asbestos FAQ for homeowners
• Anne Arundel County: Landfill and curbside collection fees