Stone Covered Steel Shingles

Recycled Content & Recyclability
Color-coated stone chip tiles demonstrate strong environmental credentials through both the use of recycled materials and their high recyclability at end-of-life. The core material, steel, is fundamental to this. The steel industry operates with extremely high recycling rates globally. The galvanized steel coil used typically contains a significant percentage of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content – often ranging from 25% to 35% or more, depending on the mill and source. This reduces the demand for virgin iron ore extraction and the energy-intensive primary steelmaking process. Using recycled steel significantly lowers the embodied energy and carbon footprint associated with the raw material phase of the tile.

Equally important is the end-of-life scenario. At the end of its 50+ year service life, the stone chip tile is almost entirely recyclable. The primary component, the steel substrate, is readily accepted by scrap metal recyclers. The steel is separated from the stone granules through shredding and processing techniques common in metal recycling facilities. The clean steel scrap is then melted down to produce new steel products, closing the material loop. While the stone granules and acrylic resin are not typically recycled in the same stream, the overwhelming majority of the product's mass (the steel) is diverted from landfills and reused. This contrasts sharply with asphalt shingles, which are a major landfill component (millions of tons annually in the US alone) and are difficult to recycle due to contamination and mixed materials. Clay and concrete tiles can be crushed for fill, but this is downcycling, not true recycling. Wood shakes often end up in landfills or are burned. The high recycled content and the high recyclability rate of the steel core make stone chip tiles a leader in sustainable roofing material lifecycle management, contributing to resource conservation and reduced landfill burden.