Disposal & Recycling

Each year billions of pounds of carpet are discarded into our landfill space. Carpet waste is considered a source of environment pollution. Disposal of carpet has always been a problem in the past. To address this problem the carpet industry has teamed up with government agencies and other concerned groups to establish a program that encourages the recycling of used carpet materials. Roth the government agencies and the private companies have implemented a national agreement that sets goals for increasing the amount of carpet for recycling. One result of this cooperative effort has been the creation of entire industry that is built around the collection and recycling of used carpet materials. World over people decorate their house with various floor covering items. Carpets fill the room with new beauty and gives wonderful experience underfoot. Wall to wall carpet, also called as tufted carpet, is still the most popular choice in floor covering for home and commercial applications. In fact, carpet accounts for over seventy percent of all flooring covering sales in the United States and tufted or wall-to-wall carpet represents over ninety percent of all the carpet sold. Calculating the amount of the carpet sold in the United States and convert it to the number of pounds sold you come up with a staggering nine billion pounds. The figure clearly points out that the carpet business can have a tremendous impact on the environment. Have you ever considered what happens to the carpet that is replaced every year According to estimates over 4 billion pounds of carpet that is replaced event year goes to the landfill. The costs associated with properly disposing of all the used carpet can be felt by consumers, carpet sellers and installers as the cost of taking discarding carpet to local landfills continues to rise every year.

Since carpet sellers and installers tend to pass cost increases for disposal, the consumer feels a bigger pinch.  There is no telling how much used carpet is disposed of in ways that are less than legal or less than friendly to the environment. Due to the initiatives taken by the corporate sector now, various centers have been established in the USA. This resulted in the decrease in the amount of used carpet materials that end up in the local landfill. On the other end of the carpet cycle, producers are working to incorporate more recycled carpet fiber into their products. Since many consumers are increasingly concerned about the environment, it is important to note that the move toward increased fees climb, has been driven by more than just dollars and cents.  Modern consumers have become more responsive to environmental needs and are conscious of the impact their buying choice has on the environment.  Many of us are adjusting our spending habits as a result.  As a responsible consumer you can ask the seller and the installer if they participate in a carpet-recycling program.  Always select the carpet that is strong, long wearing and that is appropriate for the location. This will help reduce the need to replace the carpet.  Carpet waste in landfills can be greatly reduced with minimal effort on the part of the consumer. Always clean your carpet regularly. Proper cleaning and maintenance can extend the life of the product. Thus, by prolonging the life of the carpet, a consumer can reduce the amount of carpets going into landfills.

Status of the industry:

The problem:

Carpet is a petroleum-based product. It is estimated that carpet-recycling programs can save more than 700,000 barrels of oil per year, conserving 4.4 trillion BTUs of energy. Energy savings translate into reduced pollutants as well, minimizing air and greenhouse gas emissions.

The technology to recycle all types of carpet is simply not available today. Carpet is among the top 10 items put in landfills in the world. Did you know that over 6 billion pounds of carpet is sent to land fill every year? Carpet recycling is only a 5–year old industry and in the last five years (according to CARE; Carpet America Recovery Effort) the industry has only been able to process 745 million pounds, or an average of 149 million pounds per year. That means that only about 4.9% of all carpet being sent to landfill is diverted in some way. However, we all have to start somewhere, and the carpet industry is making tremendous strides in solving with this huge problem. New technology is being invented every month that helps with recycling carpet.

Today, the only carpets that can be recycled (deconstructed and made into new products) are PVC–backed carpet tile, nylon 6 broadloom and, most recently, nylon 6,6 broadloom. Most carpet pads can be recycled as well. PPE and other carpet fibers are still in the experimental mode of recycling and these producers can only absorb a small fraction of the old carpet…not nearly enough to make a difference.