Armstrong World Industries, the world's largest manufacturer of acoustical ceilings, has announced a program that allows building owners to recycle their old ceiling tiles rather than dump them in landfills.

As part of the program, the company will even pay the cost of shipping the old ceilings to its plant. Armstrong uses such waste as raw material in the manufacture of new acoustical ceilings.

According to Armstrong, the program is the first of its kind to offer reclamation as an earth-friendly alternative to landfill disposal of old commercial ceilings from renovation projects. Neither the old nor the new replacement ceilings need to be Armstrong products to qualify for the program.

"In a recent time analysis, the process for recycling old ceilings proved to be nearly as fast as dumping them, so the program should have little, if any, adverse impact on demolition or renovation schedules," a company spokesperson said.

Microsoft, General Motors, Aetna, and others companies concerned about the environment have already taken advantage of Armstrong's ceiling recycling program in their attempts to cut back on landfill disposal of building materials, the spokesman said.

All Armstrong ceilings contain recycled materials. While a portion of the content is old scrap ceilings, the company also uses waste products from other industries. Most of that waste is in the form of old newsprint and "mineral wool," by-product of steel production.

For more information on Armstrong’s ceiling recycling program, call 1-888-CEILINGS (1-888-234-5464).

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