Most asphalt shingle debris in the U.S. still ends up in a landfill.
A new roof is one of the biggest projects a Louisiana homeowner takes on, and most planning focuses on what stays: the shingles, the underlayment, and the crew. The part that leaves gets less attention.
That is a mistake, because a tear-off produces a large, heavy pile of material in a short window. Knowing where it goes, how much of it there is, and how to stage it on the property makes the job smoother for everyone involved.
Roofing waste is not a rounding error. EPA’s construction and demolition debris figures put total U.S. generation at about 600 million tons in 2018, more than twice the amount of household and business trash.
Asphalt shingles accounted for 15.1 million tons of that. Nearly all of it, 13.9 million tons, was counted as demolition debris rather than waste from new construction.
Among materials from buildings, shingles produce about as much debris as drywall.
Among materials from buildings, shingles sit alongside drywall and plaster at about 15 million tons each. Only concrete and wood products produced more.
The same EPA report tracks where that material ends up. Of the 15.1 million tons of shingle debris in 2018, about 13.0 million tons went to landfills.
More than eight in ten tons of old shingles went to a landfill in 2018.
About 2.0 million tons were directed into manufactured products, and a small amount went to aggregate and fuel. Put another way, more than eight in ten tons of old shingles went to landfill.
For a homeowner, the practical point is simple. A tear-off load is heavy; it is usually headed for a disposal site, and the container it goes into is priced and limited by weight as well as space.
Louisiana has given homeowners a new reason to replace roofs. The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program offers grants of up to $10,000 to upgrade a roof to the FORTIFIED Roof standard set by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
The standard asks for more than new shingles. According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, a FORTIFIED roof includes a wider drip edge, a fully adhered starter strip, a sealed roof deck, and ring-shank nails in place of common smooth nails.
The payoff continues after the work is done. Once a roof meets the standard, the homeowner receives a certificate that can be shared with an insurer for a discount on the policy premium. The certificate is valid for five years and can be passed to the next owner when the house is sold.
Sealing the deck means the old covering has to come off so the crew can reach the wood underneath. That makes a fortified re-roof a full tear-off by design, so plan for the debris from the start.
The program has its own rules. Grant funding covers construction costs; the finished roof must meet the standard, and homeowners who fortify a roof before receiving a grant cannot be paid for that work. Lottery registration is closed for now, with more rounds to be announced, so check the program page before signing a contract.
A roll-off container is limited by two things: how much fits inside and how much it can weigh. Shingles are dense, so a full tear-off often reaches the weight allowance while the box still looks like it has room.
That is why the number of layers coming off matters as much as the size of the roof. A roof with two layers of old shingles produces far more weight than the same roof with one. Tell the hauler both numbers before the container is ordered, and ask what the weight allowance is for the size they recommend.
Going over the allowance usually means an extra charge, a second haul, or both. A smaller container sized for the weight is often a better fit than a larger one sized for the space.
Crews load fastest when the container sits close to the roof edge they are working. Before delivery, walk the property with the roofer and pick a spot that a truck can reach, that clears overhead lines and branches, and that will not block the driveway for the length of the job.
A few habits help the day go smoothly:
Shingle debris and household trash do not belong in the same container. Paint, tires, and general junk can cause problems at the disposal site and may lead to extra fees.
If you are also clearing out the attic or garage while the roof is being replaced, ask the hauler if that material can share the container or needs a separate pickup. Local companies that offer roofing dumpster rental in Baton Rouge typically confirm container size, weight allowance, and placement before drop-off once you provide the roof size and number of layers.
A re-roof leaves behind a large, heavy pile of debris, and most of it is still headed for a landfill. A fortified roof calls for a full tear-off, which makes planning even more important.
Count the layers, size the container by weight, choose a spot the truck and the crew can both work with, and keep the load clean. Those four steps take a few minutes of planning and save a lot of trouble on tear-off day.
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