About four years ago, GAF, a Minneapolis manufacturer of roofing and waterproofing materials, announced it planned to spend about $4.5 million to install a new pollution-control unit called a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) at the facility. RTOs are among the most effective types of equipment for controlling emissions, with pollutant destruction rates averaging between 95-99%. This was part of an effort by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to work with a number of industries in the Lowry Avenue bridge area of North Minneapolis to improve air quality.
After a lot of planning and unavoidable delays due to COVID-19, GAF has recently announced it plans to have its new RTO operating in the late spring or early summer of 2022. The RTO represents an advanced type of control technology that is not required by the facility’s air quality permit, and the company is installing it voluntarily. The RTO installation is consistent with GAF’s other sustainability practices like recycling shingles, diverting land fill waste, reducing its water use, and developing solar roofing.
GAF Chief Innovation and Growth Officer Ashish Kulkarni says ongoing efforts to improve products and manufacturing processes, “makes GAF a better company, a better neighbor, and will help improve our planet.”
For its commitment to proactive air emissions reduction, the MPCA thanks GAF as it continues to implement sustainability strategies throughout its operations.