I saw these on an inspection of a condo in Maui today. I was just doing the inside so this is nothing directly related to my inspection but they caught my eye. As best I can tell they are a product very similar to Trex or other composite deck materials. Has anyone seen something like this?
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Tomco made a composite, vinyl type shingle years ago that look similar. When I inspected it, the shingles were 10 years old and were junk by then.
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Heard and read about them but I haven’t seen them in use. What I read stated they could last 40-50 years if installed correctly.
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Yeah, these were curling up in a lot of places too. They also seem to be very prone to staining from various things. That’s unlikely to have much impact on performance but sure looked like crap.
I’ve never been a fan of new/uncommon products like this. I’d be particularly weary putting something like this on an entire condo complex like had been done in this case. The AOAO boards in condos are often sold on this crap and when it fails the owners get slapped with huge assessments. Just give me a nice composition shingle that lasts for +/- 30 years and I’m happy.
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I have been involved in waste stream management for many years (outside of home inspection). I am no expert but when it comes to plastics, it is much more complex than I ever imagined.
The chemist who design the composition of a plastic widget sets the bar. Then, the manufacturer sources the materials. These materials need to be very consistent and sustainable. Plastics are easily contaminated chemically by mixing different types or with screws, glues etc. Roof shingles make terrible water bottles.
I think we do a good job with things like beverage bottles. But when it comes to other household plastics such as litter boxes, household appliances etc. it is a tough row to hoe. And the public (in this case roofers) need to be incentivized to take the time, energy and money to divert the plastic from the waste stream.
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California has an incentive program for the public to recycle. Other states have similar. This may help provide a continuous stream of consistent recycle product the manufacturer can depend on. Of course, once the state becomes the middle man then it is bound to be rife with inefficiency and corruption.
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I’ve heard this podcast and it’s really informative. In a related note I was talking to a flight attendant from an airline that walks down the aisles with two bags to separate out plastic/paper from trash. End of the flight where does it go? In the trash with the other bag.
Everything these days is about optics and appearing to care. The “green” folks get off the plane thinking they’ve done something good by supporting a company that cares… yeah, right. Companies care about the bottom line only.
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Here’s another one - electronic recycling:
It’s a long and winding story full of lies and deceit. The core of it is GPS trackers put in “recycled” devices that don’t end up going where they are supposed to.
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They do not care about a carbon tax, It will be passed down to the consumer. Same as corporate taxes in general. They will all be passed down to the consumer. Exxon can support a carbon tax for the optics which will help them stay in business longer.
Most people do not understand the difference between stock holders and stake holders. When that is clearly defined and stake holders get a voice similar to stock holders then something may change.
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Cleaning, sorting or separating any recycle material is labor intensive. The efficiency mostly does not exist except for some bulk materials such as light iron. And, it is dangerous to the people doing the work and the water supply.
It is cheap to produce but expensive to recycle. I guess that is why most recycling is passed off to 3rd world countries or the impoverished.
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So my question is. Are plastics the real threat? I am much more concerned with heavy metals and PFOA, PFOS and PFAS.
Heavy regulation of plastics and other recycle materials might help solve the problem. Meaning, during manufacturing the components must have a waste stream outside of landfills and recovering the components must be incorporated into the design. But I hate big government because they always F’it up.
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Yep…as well as radon. We can do our part. 
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Just about every parking lot shows we need to find alternatives to single use plastic and cigarette butts.
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Well, from looking at that picture it’s now clear how that guy in Nigeria got a hold of my information!
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Priceless!! !! 
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Waste-to-energy. We have to get better at it. Everything that is not easily recycled should be converted back to energy for further use.
https://www.olmstedcounty.gov/residents/garbage-recycling/waste-energy-facility
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I completely agree with you. We all must do better to protect the environment. In my opinion, this would be a good starting point. When I was in Philadelphia for a month last year, I stopped at Target a few times. You could not get a bag at checkout, and they were out of reusable bags for purchase. The entire month I was there, they did not have bags. All of the locals saw this as normal. It was 100% new to me, but it did make sense. It is an easy step to getting to where we need to be. People can get onboard with this type of change as it is economically feasible.
What people cannot get onboard with is being forced into purchasing electric vehicles as it is not economically feasible. The city that I grew up in and inspect in now wants an 85% reduction in fossil fuels by 2040. To get there, they want to start phasing out gas furnaces and water heaters within the next couple of years. There are still a fair number of homes that have a 60-amp service with fuse panels. How is this going to work for an elderly widow on a fixed income that could barely afford to change out a gas water heater? How she/he has to upgrade their electrical service to meet this mandate? The same thing goes with now having to go to a heat pump with electric backup. The plan also includes requiring each home to have two Tesla style charging stations. Its crap like this that makes people not want to listen to the environmentalists.
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You are spot on. These policies land squarely on the poor to middle class causing extreme distress. The elitist continue to live behind their gates in ivory towers untouched by their policies. This may sound extreme, but this is a form of tyranny. The poor and marginalized always suffer the most under tyranny. So now, the poor will have to sign up for a “tyranny” waiver to avoid these expensive upgrades that will never be attainable or the middle class will have to subsidize them.
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Give me nice standing seam or metal shingle roof that lasts for +/- 90 years and I’m happy…