Carpet
Along with the many benefits of carpet come a number of environmental considerations—including issues of material use, production wastes, indoor air quality, and ultimately, carpet disposal. The disposal issues surrounding used carpet are of concern because of carpet's relatively significant contribution to the nation's waste stream and the inherent difficulties with its recycling. According to carpet industry estimates, approximately 4.7 billion pounds of carpet were discarded in the United States in 2002. Most years, carpet accounts for over 1 percent of all municipal solid waste by weight, or about 2 percent by volume. The bulky nature of carpet and the variety of materials used in its manufacture often create handling, collection, and recycling problems for local and state governments.
The carpet industry has been increasingly involved in developing solutions to these issues. In January 2002, carpet and fiber manufacturers signed the National Carpet Recycling Agreement, along with the Carpet and Rug Institute, state governments, non-governmental organizations, and the U.S. EPA. This voluntary agreement establishes a 10-year schedule to increase the amount of recycling and reuse of post-consumer carpet and reduce the amount of waste carpet going to landfills. The agreement sets a national goal of diverting 40 percent of end-of-life carpet from landfill disposal by 2012.
Understanding Carpet
Carpet is a composite product made from face fibers that are bonded to primary and secondary backing material, usually with an adhesive. Manufacturers make carpet from different face fibers, which makes carpet recycling programs more challenging, as most carpet recyclers only accept carpet made from a particular type of face fiber. The most common face fibers (and their respective percentage of the carpet market) are: nylon (57 percent), polypropylene "Olefin" (36 percent), polyester "PET" (7 percent), and wool (0.4 percent).
Residential carpet comes in broad rolls and is typically placed over separate padding, whereas commercial carpet often integrates padding into its backing and comes in rolls or square tiles. While used pad is often recycled, most residential and commercial carpet is currently landfilled. Because of its oversized and bulky nature, carpet is rarely used for waste-to-energy incineration, despite its high BTU value. Other management options are becoming available, however, particularly on the commercial side.
Reuse/Refurbishment
Due to the durable nature of carpet, direct reuse represents a good option. Carpet is often replaced long before it has become unusable. Good quality used carpet can be sold or donated to charities or building material reuse centers. Some carpet may also be refurbished by taking it back for cleaning, retexturing, and dyeing. The use of leasing programs for carpet, as opposed to the transfer of ownership through direct sale, would increase the reconditioning and reuse of carpet, but leasing is still extremely uncommon.
Recycling
According to industry estimates, only 3.8 percent of total carpet discards were recycled in the United States in 2002. Under the National Carpet Recycling Agreement, industry has set a goal of achieving a 20 to 25 percent recycling rate by 2012. Barriers to effective recycling of carpet include the lack of an established infrastructure for collection and processing of discarded carpet, especially from residential sources. In addition, carpet manufacturers and recyclers have been concentrated in the southeastern United States, resulting in logistical issues for carpet recycling in other parts of the country. Inadequate markets for some resins, such as nylon 6,6, are a concern as well.
