Carpet Recycling UK: how recycling carpet benefits retailers
A retailer’s practical experience of successfully recycling carpets and carpet off-cuts, generating major savings in disposal costs, will be shared in a Carpet Recycling UK seminar between 3pm and 4pm on Sunday September 20 at the Harrogate Flooring Show.
CRUK, the industry’s association for recycling and reusing carpet, will also be exhibiting at stand M35 during the three-day event.
Neville Hinchliffe, Flooring Department Manager at Arighi Bianchi and winner of the CRUK Recycling Champion member award this year, will be outlining their success in achieving zero waste to landfill by recycling both carpet off-cuts and post-consumer carpet. This is saving them money on their yearly disposal cost. Uplifted carpet waste is used for energy recovery in cement kilns.
The unique Macclesfield-based flooring and furniture store recycles clean installation offcuts, which are sent to CRUK member Anglo Recycling for use in new recycled underlay. Arighi Bianchi sells and markets this underlay as ‘the best experience you will never see’.
Retailers need to consider aspects such as set-up costs, storage space and current disposal costs before embarking on the ‘recycling journey’, Neville points out. “Since March when we took delivery of our baler to compact our carpet waste, we haven’t looked back. Recycling is a great story to tell to consumers!”
CRUK will provide an overview of the latest developments in carpet recycling and updates on its progress towards its 60% landfill diversion target by 2020. Landfill diversion of carpets has increased from 2% to 28% over the past seven years.
CRUK Director Laurance Bird commented: “Since 2008 we have made great strides in reusing and recycling all types of carpet; yet there is still much that can and has to be done. So it is vital that we engage with and encourage as many flooring suppliers as possible to come on board.”
CRUK’s work includes providing technical support to recyclers, identifying requirements for research and development in carpet recycling and facilitating recycling opportunities. Enquiries are welcomed from all types of organisations interested in finding new outlets for their waste carpet.
For more information, please call Marie Rhodes on 0161 440 8325 or email: [email protected] or visit www.carpetrecyclinguk.com.
