Commodities

Barking up the Asphalt Shingle Tree

RoofGone II, Portland, Ore., is marketing its No Spark Bark product as the solution to two separate problems.

The product, made from a blend of recycled roofing materials, is being marketed as a fire-resistant, environmentally friendly weed control ground cover. Not only does the product offer a tear-off roofing recycling market, but it is also a fire retardant material.

“We have filed for our patent for No Spark Bark and will be aggressively marketing the product in the next several months,” says Dennis Brown, president of RoofGone II. “It uses the fire retardant qualities of the asphalt roofing with the cosmetic aspects of the wood roofing to create a perfect fire resistant ground covering.”

Brown says the company is “committed to the future of recycling,” adding, “it is simply less expensive to recycle roofing than dump it in landfills.”

Brown’s company may get support from the Portland Metro government. “We are in the business of promoting recycling,” says Bryce Jacobson, associate solid waste planner for the Metro Regional Environment Management agency.

“Over 40,000 tons of roofing goes into the solid waste stream every year. It is a combination of commercial and residential waste with a heavy emphasis towards residential,” notes Jacobson. “We want to work with RoofGone II to help them find the solutions like No Spark Bark to decrease the tremendous amount of construction waste in the region.”

RoofGone II recycles roofing from both manufacturers who generate scrap in the region as well as contractors’ tear-off materials. Other products made by the company include Econocover, used as ground cover in livestock areas, and Roofbase, which is used on roads for mud and dust control.

CMD to Offer Construction Forecast

CMD Group, Altanta, will offer its fifth annual North American Construction Forecast in late October at the National Press Club in Washington.

Elections and other political changes in all three NAFTA countries—the U.S., Mexico and Canada—will be the focus of much of the forecast conference programming on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Cesar Ortega of market research company BIMSA (Buró de Investi-gación de Mercados), Mexico City, will analyze the signif-icance to the con-struction industry of the change in power in Mexico’s federal government. Alex Carrick, chief economist of CanadaData-CMD Group, will offer a Canadian perspective.