A sustainable roof is good for the city!

Most flat roofs in the Netherlands have bitumen roofing. But using bitumen in a smart and ecological way? It can be done!

What do bitumen and ecology have in common?

Bitumen and ecology seem at first glance to have little in common, yet there is a direct connection. How? Bitumen is the most ecological solution for waterproofing flat roofs, despite being a petroleum-based product. Our bitumen roofing membranes are recyclable after the proven lifespan of +40 years, which means that with this type of roof you reduce the ecological footprint even more. After the proven lifespan, they are still easily re-laid with a new top layer, so you can enjoy your roof for the next 40 years. Our roofs are also 100% recyclable into high-quality raw material for new roofing membranes.

Coming full circle

Since the 1990s, Derbigum has been committed to reclaiming bitumen roofing membranes at the end of their useful life. This method allows them to produce a completely new raw material, Derbitumen. How does this process work? It all starts with the collection of cutting residues, production residues and old roofing membranes. At distribution, all big bags are collected, the cutting residues, production residues and old roofing membranes are ground into finer granules. Then dust, metal residues and the like are removed, which is also called the purification process. Once the fourth step is done the production of the Derbitumen goes into effect, this is a patented process. The Derbitumen is ready and taken as a new raw material for the production of Derbicoat NT (underlayment) and Derbigum NT (top layer). 

The bottom layer contains 30% Derbitumen, the top layer contains 25%, also the glass fleece and polyester reinforcement are from recycled material. Derbigum NT is also certified with a KOMO certificate. But it goes even further, you also receive a CO2 reduction certificate and a Take-Back certificate. By the way, did you know that Derbigum NT has the lowest shadow costs of any bituminous roofing material on the market today? The product is also listed in the National Environmental Database (NMD).

All this completes the circle!