March 31, 2004

By: Colline Darts
Website: http://www.1st-in-home-decor.com

New Agreement Provides Greater Opportunity for Old Ceiling Tiles from Renovation Projects to be Reclaimed Rather than Dumped in Landfills

Armstrong Ceiling Systems and the Institution Recycling Network have announced a partnership that will provide more opportunities for old, discarded acoustical ceilings tiles from renovation projects to be reclaimed rather than be dumped in landfills.

Armstrong, the country's largest manufacturer of acoustical ceilings, offers a Ceiling Recycling Program that enables commercial building owners to ship ceilings from renovation projects to an Armstrong ceiling plant as an alternative to landfill disposal. Under the program, Armstrong even pays freight costs for shipping the old ceilings, which it uses as raw materials in the manufacture of new acoustical ceilings.

Headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire, the IRN is a cooperative recycling organization that works with approximately 100 colleges, universities, hospitals and other institutions throughout New England to improve the performance and economics of their recycling programs. The IRN acts as a one stop shop that allows its members to recycle over 60 different materials through a single point of contact.

Partnership Beneficial to the Environment Under the provisions of the new agreement, IRN will manage the packaging, consolidation and transportation of old ceiling tiles from IRN members' renovation projects and coordinate their shipment and recycling by Armstrong. In the past, ceilings from projects like these may not have been able to be recycled because they did not meet the minimum quantity requirement for a direct pick-up by Armstrong, or because generators could not manage the logistics to qualify for the Armstrong program.

According to Armstrong Associate Marketing Manager, Anita Snader, The new partnership will have a beneficial impact on the environment because it provides Armstrong with the opportunity to offer ceiling recycling to those who would normally not be able to establish a direct recycling relationship with Armstrong.

Mark Lennon, IRN's Chief Executive Officer, concurs. The new partnership will be beneficial to both the environment and the two organizations, he says. It will allow Armstrong to reach hundreds of generators through a single point of contact. At the same time, it will allow IRN to add ceiling tiles to the expanding list of recyclable construction waste materials that we manage for our members. And, most important, it will recycle tiles from dozens or hundreds of projects that otherwise would have ended up in landfills.

Recycling Program Involves Three Steps The Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program is the only one of its kind. Since it introduced the program in 1999, Armstrong has already recycled over 14,000,000 square feet of discarded ceiling tiles that would normally have been dumped in landfills.

The program involves three steps. First, a building owner must verify that the old acoustical ceiling panels can be recycled. The old ceilings do not have to be Armstrong products to qualify.

Following verification, the owner must then stack the old ceiling tiles on pallets and wrap them for pick-up. Once there is a full trailer load (at least 30,000 square feet) of old ceilings, the owner needs to call for a truck to pick up the material and transfer it to the nearest Armstrong manufacturing facility.

Under the new relationship, IRN will handle all aspects of the program for its members -- verification, collection and packaging, and coordination of the shipment to Armstrong. This is part of our core mission, IRN's Lennon states. We want to make it simpler for our members to recycle, and to let them recycle more materials through a single contact.

About The Author:

Colline Darts is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-home-decor.com.  Home decorating tips and ideas to showcase any room with style.