By Sarah Zimmerman
Hicksville, N.Y.—The carpet recycling initiative has been in the works for years, but has only recently unrolled itself on the forefront of the industry’s green movement. CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort), a key player in diversion of carpet and its recycling, has teamed with many companies and organizations over the last five years to increase awareness, education and action toward these efforts. And the initiative is starting to pay dividends.

It recently reported a total of 261 million pounds of post-consumer broadloom diverted from landfills in 2006, with 240 million pounds being recycled. Though 2006 did not reach CARE’s diversion rate goal for the year (overall a 40% diversion rate by 2012), it was a success.

“Our number of reclamation centers has more than tripled in the last 12 months, and we now have international members in CARE,” said Bob Peoples, executive director of the organization. “The anticipated restart of Evergreen Nylon Recycling is a major enabler going forward. Our sponsorships continue to expand beyond the founding carpet industry members. New equipment and instrumentation is being designed and built specifically for our carpet recycling needs. Our conference attendance continues to climb and set another record this year with 163 people, for a 55% increase. Clearly, we are building a new industry today—it is no longer a dream.”

Numbers tell the story

Compared to 2005, there was a 16% increase in landfill diversion and a 23% increase in recycling in 2006. This was a lower level of increase than reported from 2004 to 2005, which appears to have been caused by several factors. The information presented was dependant on a compilation of survey results, which many carpet-recycling companies were reluctant to give stats on in 2006. Also taken into account, the fact that housing starts, replacement carpet and the auto sector—a major outlet for recycled polymer—were down for the first time in several years.

In addition to total diversion and recycling numbers, information regarding the flow of used carpet through different types of companies was broken into four main categories—Collector, Sorting Facility, Processor and Manufacturer—showing a strong diversity in firms involved in helping to keep post-consumer carpet out of landfills. The largest contribution was by companies that perform all four functions, 73% by businesses that perform collection, 50% by those that perform sorting, 70% by firms that perform processing and 53% that perform manufacturing.

Over 60% of post-consumer carpet reported to be recycled was sent to a manufacturing facility and about ? to a processing facility. Interestingly, 84% is sent to U.S. facilities, while Europe and Asia receive the largest exports of post-consumer material (8% and 7% respectively). This is slightly higher than percentages in the U.S. and Europe in comparison to 2005, but significantly less material was exported to Asia (24% in 2005).

Advancements

A new area examined in 2006 was the type of fiber handled by carpet recyclers. To no one’s surprise, nylon was found to constitute the largest proportion of post-consumer carpet recycled (61%), followed by polypropylene (22%) and finally polyester (2%).

Though there are no definite numbers specifying what percentage of diverted material goes back into carpet versus other products or industries, the uses continue expanding greatly each year.

In 2005, 14% of the total diversion went to waste-to-energy or cement kilns. In 2006, that number dropped by 8% as higher value outlets grew. In 2006 the material went to several industries and products, including: carpet fiber, carpet backing, fiberpad/cushion (for under carpet), auto parts for cars and trucks, composite lumber, GeoHay and other sediment erosion control products, Infiltrator products—engineered modeled parts for drainage fields, railroad ties, concrete and pre-cast concrete panels, cones and cores used in carpet manufacturing, and energy recovery.

“The extended uses for recycled product are helping to grow the industry, as converted carpet can now be used in other arenas,” Peoples said. “And, I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.” He noted there is an unprecedented and accelerating demand for raw materials like never before, leaving the industry no choice but to look to recovery of key raw materials such as the thermoplastics used in carpet.

Carpet collection site numbers back this growth of interest and activity. At the close of 2006, 37 facilities were reported (Editor’s noted: At press time, 51 sites existed). “Collectors went from 16 in May of 2006 to 50 this past May,” Peoples said. “People are making business decisions to enter this brand new industry.”

Carpet recyclers are projecting a wide range of increases in material handled this year in comparison to 2006—from 3% to 500%. An estimate based on last year’s survey respondents resulted in an 82 million pound expected increase in 2007. This represents a 32% increase over last year’s numbers.

For more information regarding the industry’s recycling efforts, visit CARE’s Web site at www.carpetrecovery.org.