A former brown field site continues to evolve into a green operation, thanks to CertainTeed’s sustainable approach at its Buffalo, NY, vinyl manufacturing facility.
The 276,000-square-foot facility, which produces CertainTeed’s popular vinyl fence, railing and deck products, opened in 2004 and was the first site in the state to be certified through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfields Cleanup Program. The site, which sat vacant for nearly 20 years, was previously home to a steel coke oven. Today, CertainTeed has made tremendous strides in reducing the environmental impact of its operations.
The facility utilizes 100-percent hydropower and incorporates a closed-loop water system that saves more than 372 million gallons of water per year. Through an extensive recycling program, materials such as paper, plastic, oil, steel, and lumber are recycled rather than sent to landfills and incinerators as waste. Most recently, CertainTeed became a WasteWise partner through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, demonstrating the company’s commitment to reducing waste through the development of a waste reduction program tied to measurable results.
