Asphalt shingle recycler Northstar Clean Technologies Inc. is moving ahead with a facility in Hamilton to reprocess tens of thousands of tonnes of roofing material each year.

Then, it plans to replicate the facility in cities across North America.

The Calgary-based company has signed a letter of intent with a subsidiary of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority to lease a four-acre industrial property for a 15-year term.

Northstar plans to establish a 25,000- to 30,000-square-foot facility that will process 40,000 tonnes of shingles per year from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) under what it refers to as typical operations, though that number could go as high as 80,000 tonnes.

“This is a real opportunity to stop shingles from going to landfill,” Aidan Mills, president and CEO of Northstar, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

The shingles will be broken down into sand, fibreglass or paper, and asphalt for reuse, which reduces the need for new resources and could make a significant dent in the amount of waste destined for landfills. Over one million tonnes of shingles are disposed of in Canada each year, according to one estimate, and Mills said one quarter originates from the GTA.

Bringing more industry back to Hamilton

The company’s technology recovers 99 per cent of the materials from a shingle. The sand can be returned to shingle manufacturing; asphalt can also be reused for shingles, flat roofs and roads; the fibreglass could be used to make concrete.

Mills said recycling a shingle slashes carbon emissions by 60 per cent compared to new production. A life-cycle analysis conducted at Northstar’s commercial facility in Calgary (which is in the final stages of construction) found the process cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 117 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of asphalt shingle feed, and water consumption by 600 litres.

Hamilton was chosen by the company because of its advantageous location in the GTA, the infrastructure connections, and abundance of shingle and asphalt customers, Mills said. “Great for a light industrial manufacturer like ourselves.”

Northstar is in talks to receive feedstock from environmental services companies, landfills and manufacturers under long-term supply agreements. Mills also foresees roofing companies dropping off used materials at the facility.

If running at full capacity – around the clock with sufficient supply – Northstar anticipates the facility could process 80,000 tonnes of asphalt shingles per year.

The company’s next step is finalizing permitting. Once that is finished, Mills expects Northstar to sign an agreement for shingle supply and binding agreements for the offtake of the output by the first half of 2025.

Construction is expected to start in mid-2026, with operations starting just a few months later.

Mills estimated the Hamilton project will cost approximately $15 million to build, with an additional $5 million in fees from the land lease, hiring, consulting and permitting.

Around two-thirds of the revenue generated by the facility will be from the sale of products, and the remainder from a tipping fee, Mills explained. Carbon credit sales will provide an additional revenue stream.

Northstar’s other facilities and plans

Northstar’s other facilities include a pilot site in Delta, B.C. for research and development, and its first commercial facility in Calgary that is to be ready for operations in mid-2025.

The Calgary facility is projected to divert 40,000 tonnes of shingles per year as a baseline, similar to the Hamilton project. Northstar signed a five-year supply agreement with asphalt shingle maker IKO Industries Ltd. for the Calgary site.

Citing data that found over 16 million tonnes of shingles are disposed of in Canada and the U.S., Mills called it “a mountainous problem” that Northstar could help tackle via mass expansion.

“This is going to be like the Tim Hortons of asphalt shingle recycling. You can literally put one in every city that is over one million people,” Mills said of Northstar’s recycling technology.

By 2030, he expects Northstar to have 23 recycling facilities, including the site in Hamilton, a retrofitted Delta facility, and its first U.S. project on the East Coast.

To push into the U.S., Northstar has a deal with its partner and investor Tamko Building Products to collaborate on four projects, Mills said. The recycled materials will be taken by Tamko to remake shingles.

Mills said to expect announcements about government and private funding for its projects in Canada and U.S. in the coming months.