Flooring Resources Blog

Have you ever wondered how to recycle carpet? Did you know 5 billion pounds* of carpet go into the landfill each year? That number is frightening because landfills are filling up and closing their doors to carpet shipments each year.

The good news is, there are choices for recycling carpet. When old carpet is removed from a building, consider the green carpet options. One of the best options is never having the carpet enter the waste stream at all. If the old carpet is still in good condition, consider donating it to a local non-profit organization. The carpet can usually be cleaned and re-used. Flooring Resources makes routine donations of gently used and cleaned carpet to Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley ReStore.

If the carpet is unable to be donated, it can be sent to a carpet sorting or carpet recycling facility. Recycled carpet has many uses, “old carpet is going into composite lumber (both decking and sheets), tile backer board, roofing shingles, railroad ties, automotive parts, carpet cushion, stepping stones, etc.”* Old carpet can also be recycled directly into new carpet.

Several carpet mills and manufacturers have green carpet initiatives. Mohawk’s GreenWorks, Interface, Invista, Mannington Commerical, Milliken, Shaw Industries and Tandus all have carpet recycling programs.

When considering how to recycle old carpet, contact your carpet dealer, specifier or manufacturing mill that sold you the carpet and ask them to help you locate a green carpet recycling facility. Recycling carpet is not free; there are transportation and labor costs involved in getting the recycled carpet to its final destination. However, dealers and mills can often cover the cost of recycling if you are planning to replace the carpet with one of their own products.

Flooring Resources offers green carpet recycling and reclamation services, often free of charge to job sites. The goal is simply to divert waste from landfills. Flooring Resources Corporation is committed to the recycling effort, promoting green business practices and preservation of the environment. . We remain first in pounds recycled by our peers and strive to be the leader in green carpet recycling. Any mill, any carpet, any job - No Project Obligation. Contact us for more details.

Since January 1, 2009 Flooring Resources has diverted 657,831 pounds of carpet and we’re picking up truckloads every day!

Resources:

*CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort) For more information, and carpet recycling facts visit carpetrecovery.org.