Where do old shingles go after a Calgary tear-off?

Most torn-off shingles from a Calgary roof end up in a landfill, but the picture is more layered than that, and it matters when you are comparing quotes.

Where the material actually goes

Asphalt shingles are a petroleum-based composite: a fibreglass or organic felt mat, asphalt coating and mineral granules. Calgary's waste haulers and roofing contractors typically take tear-off shingles to one of the regional landfills that accept construction, renovation and demolition (CRD) waste. The City of Calgary operates the Shepard Landfill and the Spyhill Landfill, both of which accept CRD material from contractors.

A growing share of old shingles is diverted to asphalt recycling. Recycled shingles are ground into crumb and used as aggregate in road base, cold-patch asphalt and new asphalt mix. Several Alberta asphalt recycling facilities accept roofing tear-off, and some Calgary roofing contractors sort and haul shingles separately to those processors rather than the landfill. If sustainability matters to you, ask each contractor directly whether they recycle the tear-off and where it goes; get the answer in writing because it is easy to claim and hard to verify otherwise.

One material that changes the disposal picture entirely is asbestos. Buildings constructed before roughly 1990 carry a real risk that roofing felts, flashings or underlayment contain asbestos. Under Alberta OHS rules, removal must be done by trained, competent workers and the waste must go to an approved landfill that accepts hazardous material, not the general CRD pile. If your home pre-dates 1990, ask the contractor whether they will test or assess for asbestos before tearing off; a reputable one will flag this in the scope.

What this means for your quote. Disposal is a real cost, and how it is handled affects the price you see. A proper quote should spell out tear-off and haul-away as a line item, not bury it in a lump sum. On a typical Calgary house, tear-off of a single layer runs roughly $1 to $4 per square foot of roof area; a second layer adds to that. If the quote is suspiciously low, ask whether disposal is included or whether a bin will be left on your property and billed separately at the end.

A few other things worth confirming before you sign: the contractor should leave the site clean, with all nails picked up by a magnetic roller and no shingle debris in the garden or eavestroughs. That is standard practice, not a favour, and it should be stated in the contract. Also confirm that the bin or trailer will not damage your driveway, and who is responsible if it does.

If your tear-off involves a pre-1990 home, or if you are switching from cedar shake (which sometimes has asbestos-containing underlayment beneath it), raise the asbestos question before work starts, not after the crew is already on the roof.

Curious what local roofers would charge for tear-off and disposal on your specific roof?