By Louis Iannaco
While carpet recycling may have “decreased slightly” in 2008 from 2007, according to Frank Hurd, chairman of the Carpet America Recovery Effort ( CARE), the industry “should be proud of what [it] accomplished. In spite of the economic environment, CARE members continued to make progress towards our mission and goals.”

Carpet recycling has strong, positive economic impacts, he explained. “For the first time in our annual survey, employment data was collected to understand regional employment impacts. In 2008 alone, our collectors reported 1,100 people employed directly in the business, creating an additional 2,200 indirect jobs in the local communities. This level of employment contributes significant dollars for local and state economies where these jobs are located.

“Equally as important,” Hurd noted, “the amount of carpet diverted from the landfill in 2008 means we have eliminated over 238,000 tons of greenhouse emissions from the atmosphere, which is equivalent to over 2 million barrels of oil not being burned, and 728,000 pine trees storing carbon for one year. Our members are proud of this accomplishment and the reduction in [the industry’s] overall environmental footprint.”

In 2008, the reported recycling and diversion of post-consumer carpet decreased slightly from that reported the year before, Hurd noted. A total of 292.4 million pounds of postconsumer carpet was diverted from landfills, in 2008, with 243.4 million pounds being recycled. Compared to 2007, this represents a 0.8% decrease in diversion and an 11.5% decrease in recycling. Although the level of diversion of carpet dropped versus 2007, the amount of decrease was better than expected, relative to business results reported by other industries in 2008, and given the tough economic environment faced by U.S. businesses. To put this in perspective, businesses suffered unprecedented downturns—the DJIA fell 31% over the course of 2008.

In speaking of CARE’s commitments, Hurd said, “One of our key goals is to strengthen our network of entrepreneurs.” In 2008, the CARE network of collectors increased to 58 from 56 in 2007. The economic downturn of 2008 significantly impacted CARE members both directly and indirectly, he stated. “Our members were affected by the decrease in demand for post-consumer carpet nationally and internationally. Lower pricing for polymers and post-consumer carpet significantly impacted the profitability of CARE entrepreneurs. The stock market, housing market and automotive market were especially hard hit in 2008.”

This downturn made consumers less likely to purchase both durable and discretionary items, items that typically use post-consumer carpet as a source of recycled content. “Our expectations are for continuing market challenges in 2009,” Hurd said, “without significant improvements until sometime in 2010.”

Survey results

There are several unique attributes of the data collected this year, noted Georgina Sikorski, CARE’s new executive director. For example, more detailed data was collected regarding beneficial reuse of post-consumer carpet, providing a clearer picture of this aspect of diversion.

As it did last year, the survey gathered information on the type of carpet face fiber collected or handled by recyclers. This data shows a considerable diversity in the types of face fibers collected and a pattern generally similar to last year’s data.

Some of the key findings from the survey include:

• In 2008, CARE formed a partnership with the Polymer Centers of Excellence (PCE) to foster the development of new technologies and products to increase the use and demand for post-consumer carpet.

• The State of Maine became the latest signatory to the MOU for Carpet Stewardship. Maine will promote carpet recycling by seeking out reclamation opportunities for post-consumer carpet removed from government buildings, and by specifying the use of carpet underlayment pad made from recycled carpet fiber under new carpet installations.

• In response to a request for support from the organization’s Entrepreneur meeting, a CARE team developed a detailed set of descriptions for post-consumer carpet to make it easier to use as a raw material.

• Innovation is at the heart of CARE and its members, as shown in the new and enhanced applications for post-consumer carpet highlighted at this year’s Annual Conference.

• This past year, CARE began its evolution from a sponsorship to a membership organization to reach out to more people who are interested in making a sustainable difference by supporting the association’s mission.

• And, in a three-day strategic session, CARE’s board developed short-term and long-term strategies to grow the business and opportunities for the CARE membership.

• Finally, in 2008 CARE welcomed Bob Pilotti of ECM Plastics, Eric Nelson of Interface and Sean Ragiel of CarpetCycle to the board. The organization also welcomed Sikorski as its new executive director.

2008 highlights

PCE Collaboration. In 2008, CARE formed a partnership with the Polymer Center of Excellence (PCE) to provide training, testing and technological applications to the carpet-recycling community. The agreement will provide much-needed technical resources for members of CARE to assess the progress made in providing post-consumer carpet materials for plastics applications.

Maine becomes latest signatory to the MOU. On April 1, the state of Maine became the most recent signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Carpet Stewardship. Maine’s department of environmental protection commissioner David Littell and representatives of CARE signed the agreement. “Maine will promote carpet recycling by seeking out reclamation opportunities for post-consumer carpet removed from government buildings,” said Sikorski, “and by specifying the use of carpet underlayment pad made from recycled carpet fiber under new carpet installations.”

Detailed descriptions for post-consumer carpet available for CARE members. CARE members continue to invest in new technologies and products to process post-consumer carpet and make it easier to use as a raw material. In 2008, based on input from the entrepreneur meeting, noted Jeremy Stroop, CARE’s operations manager, the organization developed a set of detailed descriptions for post-consumer carpet that “we can use to define and describe the attributes of processed polymers.

CARE membership evolves. CARE undertook changes in its organizational structure to diversify and broaden its membership beginning in 2008. Instead of limiting itself as a sponsorship organization, CARE has evolved into a membership association. “This change makes it easier for affiliated associations to become a part of the team and make a sustainable difference,” Stroop said. “In our efforts to do so, we have expanded our membership resources by developing a member- only Web site within the carpetrecovery.org site. This site has tools and marketing materials available to members 24 hours, seven days a week.”

Board completes strategic planning process. In February, CARE’s board met for a two-day session to assess the current state of the carpet-recycling industry and to set both short-term and long-term goals and strategies. These goals will support the mission of CARE and its members, Stroop noted. The board approved three strategic goals for 2009.

Goal 1. Achieve sustainable funding for the CARE organization in 2009 strategies: Pursue a licensing fee for carpet establish a recycle credit system for post-consumer carpet; and secure funding from donated CO2 credits.

Goal 2. Increase the demand, market opportunity for post-consumer carpet strategies: Expand the business opportunity for, and support the marketing of, commercially available products containing post consumer carpet; assess and aid the development of promising emerging products or technologies; establish and expand government procurement opportunities; incorporate reclamation in existing and new standards; adopt post-cosumer recycled content in revised NSF-140 standard; incorporate post-consumer recycled content in proposed residential carpet standard, and assist collectors to improve the health of the collection network.

Goal 3. Strengthen the leadership position of CARE strategies: Expand the breadth and depth of outreach to educate key audiences on CARE’s missiom; broaden membership; expand membership categories and enhance membership benefits, and hire a membership manager.

“The two biggest challenges for CARE in 2008 were the economy and end-markets for post-consumer carpet materials,” said Stroop. “The economic conditions in 2008 were bleak at best and 2009 is not offering much improvement. These economic conditions had significant impacts on the recycling of carpet and the overall diversion of carpet from landfills. On a global scale, market demand for feedstock materials and consumer spending continues to plague the industry. The continued and persistent slowdown of the housing market and automotive market has been especially troublesome.”

Despite these difficult conditions, CARE has pressed on with its mission to promote carpet recycling. “In 2008,” said Hurd, “we were able to divert over 292 million pounds of carpet from the landfill and recycle 243 million pounds of this into value-added products. Due to the support of our members and because of their commitment to our mission, CARE has been successful in making a sustainable difference.

“We believe we have outlined a solid roadmap to be successful in 2009,” he concluded. “We will continue to invest in new technologies and product development to meet the market need for high-quality postconsumer carpet materials, and we will support the development of new consumer products that utilize this valuable and durable material, keeping ever-increasing amounts of carpet from the landfill.”

For more information on CARE and its initiatives, visit carpetrecovery.org.