Opal Enterprises, a Naperville, Ill.-based roofing company, has recently received its certification as a Certified Green Roofer, from GAF. GAF calls itself the largest roofing manufacturer in North America. 
 

In order to be named as a certified green roofer, Opal Enterprises completed a number of different types of training approved by the U.S. Green Building Council, including how to improve indoor air quality with proper attic ventilation, how to prepare a roof for solar energy and how to implement an asphalt shingle recycling program.
 

“It is vitally important that Opal cares about each step of the remodeling process.” says Tara D. Opalski, Marketing Manager for Opal Enterprises. “I hate that there are so many landfills being so quickly filled up. Construction debris has no place in the landfills.”
 

Since becoming a certified green St. Charles roofing company, Opal Enterprises has recycled 217 tons of asphalt shingles. The company has hired a local disposal company, Heritage Disposal, which helps reduce the number of miles driven during the recycling process. The disposal company, takes the dumpsters filled with used shingles to Economy Disposal.
 

After the waste from the dumpsters is sorted by Economy Disposal, the shingles are sent to another Chicagoland company, Southwind RAS. Southwind RAS then recycles the shingles into road base paper. Opal Enterprises has taken the steps to ensure that the entire process happens completely within the Chicagoland area, which according to Opal Enterprises means the carbon footprint of the roofing project is reduced even further.