Duro-Last®, Inc. Recognizes The Duerson Corporation with 2017 Sustainability Award

Because of The Duerson Corporation’s dedication to sustainable practices, thousands of pounds of materials were diverted from landfills and thousands of dollars were saved in disposal costs.

When Pella Regional Health Center needed to add a third-floor expansion onto their existing facility to accommodate their growing obstetrician services, they contacted The Duerson Corporation of Altoona, Iowa to coordinate the roofing needs for the project.

While the plans called for a new roofing installation over the expansion - which included the use of custom-fabricated Duro-Last® 50 mil membrane, Duro-Last vapor barrier, EXCEPTIONAL® Metals coping and 2-piece snap-on compression, along with Roof Trak® III walkway pads - it also involved the removal of existing roofing materials from the old deck that would now serve as the expansion floor. Additionally, since the third floor expansion was being built on top of a working hospital structure, detailed plans had to be put into place to avoid interfering with hospital operations and patient care.

While careful and efficient construction at every stage of the project was imperative, hospital administrators put great importance on how material waste was handled as well. “There are limited resources in this world and there’s no reason not to take good care of those resources,” said Jim Corbett, Facilities Director at Pella Regional Health Center. “It was important to us that thought went into how we were going to dispose of the used materials. Kirk and Tanner Duer, of The Duerson Corporation, did a fantastic job of developing and executing a recycling plan that exceeded any of our expectations.”

The Duerson team coordinated the recycling of almost every aspect of the removed roofing system. Through Duro-Last’s Roof Take Back Program, approximately 7,200 pounds of mechanically attached Duro-Last membrane was recycled into new PVC products including flooring, walkway pads and concrete expansion joints. The metal plates and screws used to attach the original membrane, over 1,000 pounds in total, were also collected and recycled through a metal processing plant where they were melted down and used in other materials.

However, due to the large dimensions of the existing EPS insulation, special effort had to be put into coordinating the recycling of this material. The Duerson team contacted the original manufacturer and secured the use of three semi-truck trailers which were loaded with approximately 120,000 board feet of used insulation. These trailers were then returned to the insulation manufacturer’s facility where the material was recycled into their manufacturing process. Because of The Duerson Corporation’s dedication to sustainable practices, thousands of pounds of materials were diverted from landfills and thousands of dollars were saved in disposal costs.

Contractor: The Duerson Corporation

Project: Pella Regional Health Center

Location: Pella, Iowa

Square Feet: 27,600

Products: Duro-Last® 50 mil membrane, custom-fabricated curb flashings, vapor barrier, Strip Mastic, and two-way air vents; Roof Trak® III walkway pads; Duro-Caulk®; Duro-Guard® ISO; EXCEPTIONAL® Metals coping and 2-piece snap-on compression

Learn more about Duro-Last at www.duro-last.com.