By Greentech Lead America: Armstrong World Industries,
the manufacturer of acoustical ceiling systems, and Waste Management, a
provider of integrated waste management services, have jointly initiated a
program to recycle old ceiling tiles. The program aims to divert old ceiling
tiles from local landfills.
The program is an expansion of the existing Armstrong
Ceiling Recycling Program, which added more than 50 Waste Management material
recovery facilities and has a number of collection contracts with many of the
nation’s top construction companies.
The Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program enables
commercial building owners to send ceilings from construction sites to
an Armstrong ceiling plant as an alternative to landfill
disposal.
“A key goal of our program is to provide easy access to
ceiling recycling where and when a customer needs it. Our collaboration
with Waste Management will enhance this offering allowing much more material to
be recycled,” said Anita Snader, environmental sustainability manager
for Armstrong.
Waste Management will collect old mineral fiber and
fiberglass ceiling tiles and prepare the tiles for shipment to the
nearest Armstrong ceilings plant, where they will be used in the
manufacture of new ceiling tiles. Armstrong designates new tiles made
with high levels of recycled ceilings as Ceiling-2-Ceiling tiles.
“This is a great resource for recyclable materials.
The program expands
the ways we’re supporting our goal of finding more value in materials we
collect, as well as developing a sustainable network with a major product
manufacturer in the industry,” said Jim Halter, vice president of
Construction Solutions for Waste Management.
Since the program began in 1999, Armstrong has
recycled over 123 million square feet of old ceiling tiles. This
represents more than 16,000 roll-off containers of discarded construction
materials that would have otherwise been taken to landfills.
Recycling one ton of tiles saves 11 tons of raw
materials, 1,892 gallons of potable water, and enough electricity to power a
home for 1.4 months.
Waste Management to produce green energy from everyday waste
Recently, Waste Management announced a gas-to-electric
facility at Mahoning Landfill in New Springfield, Ohio. The plant will produce
electricity from Methane gas, which is produced in the landfill from the
decomposition of waste.