How to Dispose of Drywall and Roofing Shingles

Drywall is about 90 percent calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum) and 10 percent paper. Research at the University of Florida explains what happens to it in a landfill: when gypsum gets wet in the absence of oxygen, as it usually does once buried, sulfate-reducing bacteria use the sulfate and produce hydrogen sulfide. That gas has a rotten-egg smell detectable at concentrations reported as low as 0.5 parts per billion, and it has caused off-site odor complaints at construction and demolition landfills, which, unlike municipal landfills, are not typically built with gas collection systems.

That history is why some facilities limit how much drywall they accept, keep it in separate areas, or price it differently, and why recycling clean scrap is encouraged. Massachusetts goes furthest: clean gypsum wallboard is on its list of materials banned from disposal.

The easiest drywall to recycle is clean scrap from new construction: offcuts with no paint, wallpaper, tile or adhesive. EPA notes that gypsum can be de-papered and crushed and used, in moderate quantities, as a soil amendment. Gypsum and C&D recyclers take clean scrap where programs exist; availability varies a lot by region, so search our directory and call.

Demolition drywall is harder. It is painted, taped and covered in joint compound, often has nails and screws in it, and in older buildings the compound or textured finish may contain asbestos: EPA lists textured paint and patching compounds used on walls and ceilings among products that may. Unless a local recycler accepts it, tear-out drywall goes to a construction and demolition or municipal landfill. Keep it dry, both because wet gypsum is what produces hydrogen sulfide and because wet board weighs more at the scale.

Old asphalt shingles contain asphalt binder that paving companies can reuse. The National Asphalt Pavement Association and Federal Highway Administration survey estimated that 641,000 tons of reclaimed asphalt shingles were used in asphalt pavement mixtures in 2024, down 20 percent from 2023. That is a real market, but a small and uneven one, so shingle recycling is easy to find in some regions and absent in others.

Recyclers want shingles only: no wood decking, metal flashing, gutters, underlayment rolls, or trash mixed in. Because EPA lists roofing and siding shingles among products that may contain asbestos, a recycler may ask about the age of the roof or test incoming loads. Ask what documentation they need before you deliver.

EPA's volume-to-weight factors put drywall scrap at 467 pounds per cubic yard and asphalt roofing at 731 pounds per cubic yard. A 6.5-foot pickup bed filled level with the rails holds about 2.31 cubic yards, using Ford's published 62.3-cubic-foot box volume. Dumpster weights assume the container is filled level.

Weight allowances are where reroofing jobs get expensive: a 10-yard dumpster of tear-off shingles is about 3.7 tons at EPA's factor, so confirm the allowance and the overage rate before you sign. Use the estimator for other sizes.

A few minutes of preparation decides whether a load goes to a recycler at a lower rate, to the landfill at the mixed-debris rate, or gets turned away.