December 12, 2019
The entire home improvement industry makes some environmentally devastating contributions to landfills every single year, and unless our construction habits change, this damaging trend is set to continue.
However, if you want to break away from this trend and contribute to the planet in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, you should consider alternative investments when upgrading your home or business premises, especially when it comes to roofing. Roofs are one part of a building that can have a very significant impact upon the environment, and you should always try to choose eco-friendly materials such as metal, when roofing, re-roofing or replacing your existing roof, and here’s why:
How a metal roof can help to reduce landfill waste:
Replacing a roof on any kind of building, whether it’s your home or commercial premises, usually requires that the old one be torn off and disposed of, or at least parts of it. This simply adds to the already overflowing landfill sites and does absolutely nothing to aid the environment. It’s estimated that around 20 billion pounds of asphalt shingle finds its’ way to landfill sites every year, and it takes a whopping 300 years for the materials to decompose. By the time one year’s supply of old roofing materials has disintegrated, there will be a further six trillion more pounds sitting on top of it.
However, choose a roof made of metal, and you can avoid adding to this problem and instead, help to reduce the inordinate amount of waste. As a metal roof is lightweight, it can often be installed right on top of your existing roof without risking the stability of your home, meaning that the landfill site is spared, and you go on to save several hundred bucks in removal fees.
Minimizing harmful emissions:
Did you know that a metal roof can help to reduce smog, pollution and other harmful emissions? Metal is a fantastic reflector of solar radiation, and this means that there is less heat transferred to your home. Less heat of course means that you require less from you’re a/c units in the hot, summer months, and less energy results in fewer carbon emissions and better financial savings for you, too. Anything that homeowners can do to reduce their carbon footprint needs to be encouraged, and installing a metal roof on your home or business will do this in a dramatic fashion.
Longevity:
Roofing materials such as Copper, Zinc and Aluminium are all known for their superior longevity, meaning that due to less damage and wear and tear, you won’t have to replace your roof for many years to come; this is good both for the environment and your pocket.
To know more about doing your bit to help protect the environment by installing a metal roof, talk to your local roofing specialists today.
Todd Miller is President of Isaiah Industries, an organization that is recognized as one of the world’s leading metal roofing manufacturers, and manufacturer of Classic Metal Roofing Systems.