If you order, distribute or install asphalt shingle roofing products, you should be aware of some recent changes to asphalt shingle standards.
In December 2025, ASTM International Committee D08 Roofing and Waterproofing approved revisions to ASTM D3462, “Standard Specification for Asphalt Shingles Made from Glass Felt and Surfaced with Mineral Granules,” that permits recycled and recovered pre-consumer and post-consumer materials in asphalt shingles. ASTM D3462 is referenced in the International Building Code® and International Residential Code® as a minimum code requirement for asphalt roofing shingle products. Asphalt shingles sold in the U.S. that comply with ASTM D3462 comply with building codes adopted by U.S. jurisdictions.
The same revisions were approved in August for ASTM D3018, “Standard Specification for Class A Asphalt Shingles Surfaced with Mineral Granules.” ASTM D3018 provides fewer requirements for compliant products than ASTM D3462 and is primarily concerned with asphalt shingles’ fire and wind-test performance. ASTM D3018 is not referenced in IBC or IRC. In short, all ASTM D3462-compliant products comply with ASTM D3018, but not all ASTM D3018-compliant products comply with ASTM D3462.
Revisions
The revised standards include the following new definitions:
Post-consumer material is a “roof cover material generated by the end users of products that has fulfilled its intended purpose or can no longer be used in its present state; this includes material returned from the distribution chain.”
Pre-consumer material is a “roof covering material that is rejected from the prime manufacturing process and which can be combined with virgin material for use in later production of roof membrane but only after significant reprocessing.”
Recovered material includes “materials and by-products that have been separated, diverted or removed from the solid waste stream.”
Recycling is the “processing of recovered material into secondary raw material or product, excluding energy recovery.”
The definitions originated in another ASTM International Committee D08 standard, ASTM D8013, “Guide for Establishing a Recycle Program for Roof Coverings, Roofing Membrane, and Shingle Materials,” though ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018 did not adopt all of them in their entirety.
Also, the following new language permitting the use of nonvirgin materials was added to ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018:
“The asphalt shingles covered by this specification are permitted to include pre-consumer, post-consumer, recovered and/or recycled materials. The resulting composite material construction shall meet or exceed all requirements of this specification.”
NRCA opposed including this language in ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018 but agreed to withdraw its opposition based on a promise the proponent of the proposal would ballot a new product marking requirement that identifies post-consumer content on the asphalt shingle wrapper.
Concerns
NRCA primarily is concerned the language that was balloted and adopted introduces unacceptable raw material variability in asphalt shingle manufacturing. The new language allows unlimited use of recovered and recycled content from post-consumer and pre-consumer materials in all asphalt shingle product components—granules, parting agent, asphalt, asphalt filler, fiberglass mat reinforcement, sealant and laminating adhesive, and release film—without adding any new material testing or tracking requirements to verify recovered or recycled raw materials’ suitability for use or claimed post-consumer or pre-consumer origin.
Although asphalt shingle manufacturers generally have processes in place to establish material properties based on a chain of custody for pre-consumer recovered or recycled material, the same is not the case for post-consumer material.
The proponent did eventually ballot a proposal for ASTM D3018-compliant shingle packaging to indicate the “type(s) of recycled content the product contains,” but the wording was so milquetoast as to make it ineffective. The proposal drew several compelling negatives, including from NRCA. NRCA proposed alternative wording for another re-ballot. Asphalt shingle manufacturers voted against the new labeling requirement and effectively blocked it. The proposal was withdrawn in accordance with ASTM International’s ballot procedure.
NRCA recommends you not use asphalt shingle products with post-consumer content
Devil in the details
The complete definition of post-consumer material provided in ASTM D8013 indicates “post-consumer material is part of the broader category of recovered material and may come from households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end users of a product.”
Also, the complete ASTM D8013 definition of pre-consumer material states “historically, this material has been sent to the landfill” and “most reinforced single-ply roofing membrane scrap that is reprocessed back into the same product fits this definition.”
According to ASTM D8013, which ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018 reference as the source for the recently added definitions, the new language allowing nonvirgin materials in asphalt shingle manufacturing permits recovered and recycled pre-consumer and post-consumer material.
Recovered material is unprocessed pre-consumer and post-consumer solid waste material that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Recycled material is recovered pre-consumer and post-consumer material that has been reprocessed so it may be used again in manufacturing. ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018 currently permit asphalt shingle manufacturing to use the landfill-bound waste alongside the reprocessed material.
ARMA’s position
The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association represents all U.S. and Canadian asphalt shingle manufacturers. NRCA asked ARMA for a statement of its position regarding the recent changes to ASTM D3462 and ASTM D3018.
ARMA provided the following statement: “[ARMA] supports the ASTM consensus-based process for developing standards for the testing and evaluation of asphalt roofing materials. As a trade association, ARMA does not dictate nor does it believe that standards should dictate product composition. Instead, ARMA supports the proposition that all asphalt shingles should meet or exceed performance standards established by organizations such as ASTM and incorporated into local building codes. This includes shingles containing pre-consumer, post-consumer, recovered or recycled content. Because consensus-based standards such as ASTM D3018 and ASTM D3462 establish baseline requirements, contractors, specifiers and code officials should consult individual manufacturers for product-specific guidance and installation procedures.”
ARMA also indicated it welcomes the opportunity to work with NRCA to create educational resources and answer questions regarding asphalt roofing products.
Current state
Manufacturers do not disclose whether any post-consumer or pre-consumer recovered or recycled materials are used in asphalt shingle manufacturing.
The environmental product declaration “Asphalt Shingle Roofing System—Installation: Fastened,” issued July 1, 2023, does not specify any pre-consumer or post-consumer materials being used as part of material composition in asphalt shingle manufacturing.
The EPD contains the following language regarding the uses of recycled asphalt shingle material: “Uses beyond asphalt paving are developing, including use of recovered components into asphalt roofing and other products. Because these processes are new and emerging on a commercial scale during creation of this EPD, they are not accounted for in the [life-cycle assessment] results presented in this EPD.”
To date, no U.S. or Canadian asphalt shingle manufacturer has openly announced plans to manufacture or market shingle products containing post-consumer recycled material. NRCA is aware of several manufacturers that have developed or partnered with others to develop technologies and processes that reclaim asphalt from pre-consumer and post-consumer asphalt shingle material and reprocess it into secondary raw material. At least two asphalt shingle manufacturers claim to have successfully used the reclaimed reprocessed material to manufacture finished asphalt shingle products in test runs.
Building codes
The 2024 editions of the IBC and IRC reference ASTM D3462-19, which predates the revisions that permit pre-consumer and post-consumer materials in asphalt shingle manufacturing. The 2027 editions of IBC and IRC have not been finalized as of press time. Once they are, as a standard practice they will reference the most current version of ASTM D3462.
NRCA’s recommendation
NRCA will continue a dialogue with ARMA and its members regarding the recent changes to asphalt roofing shingle product standard specifications. NRCA’s objectives are to clarify the intent behind the changes, understand the impact on the products and clearly communicate that information to NRCA members.
NRCA encourages you to contact your asphalt shingle supplier for information about the use of pre-consumer and post-consumer recovered and recycled materials in their products. Until post-consumer content is properly included in asphalt shingle standards, NRCA recommends you not use asphalt shingle products with post-consumer content.
