Carpet Recycling UK announces carpet waste landfill diversion rate increases to 42 per cent

Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK), which represents sustainable carpet producers, has announced the volume of carpet waste reused, recycled or recovered for energy rose to 42 per cent, up from 35 per cent in 2016, saving 168,000 tonnes of old carpet going to landfill in 2017.

These figures represent significant progress in raising what were previously negligible carpet recycling rates ten years ago. It has come a long way since then, with this year’s seven per cent - or 26,000-tonne - increase in the volume of the 400,000 tonnes of carpet waste arising annually diverted from landfill representing a big step towards the industry’s target of a 60 per cent diversion rate by 2020.

A large portion of the volume of carpet waste diverted from landfill can be accounted for by energy recovery, with 124,000 tonnes of carpet waste ending up as an input for energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities, with particular growth in the use of waste carpets as a replacement for fossil fuels in cement kilns and the local incineration of municipal solid wastes.

The growth in the use of waste carpets in equestrian surface materials and of carpet tile reuse schemes were also areas of improvement, helping to increase the amount of carpet waste reused and recycled to 42,000 tonnes.

CRUK, whose core funders includes Desso Carpets, Cormar Carpets, Brinton Carpets, ege, Milliken and Balsan, also saw the interest in carpet recycling increase in 2017, with 640 enquires handled by CRUK - an increase of 28 per cent on the previous year.

Carpet Recycling UK Director Laurance Bird said: "These Core Funders are industry leaders in developing voluntary producer responsibility for carpets throughout their lifecycle. Thanks to their unstinting commitment and support, we are continuing to advance sustainability in this sector and drive growth in recycling capacity.

“Our 2017 achievements clearly show strong progress towards our goal of 60 per cent landfill diversion by 2020. Increased interest in recycling and rising numbers of enquiries also demonstrates that carpet is now regarded as a valued raw material that presents opportunities for reuse in a variety of novel applications.

"In our tenth anniversary year, we remain proud of our achievements and appreciate the wide-ranging support that contributes to the success of CRUK and is helping to ensure the growing demand for carpet recycling services is met.”

To find a carpet recycling business near you, visit CRUK’s website, where there are also details of the upcoming 2018 Annual Carpet Recycling Conference and Awards on 5 July.