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Record levels of carpet waste recycled in 2012, says CRUK

More than 6,000 tonnes of carpet waste was diverted from landfill in 2012 by UK-based manufacturing members of Carpet Recycling UK – representing a diversion rate of 99%.

These manufacturers prevented 6,049 tonnes of waste carpet offcuts from the production process – a record-breaking figure. Of the 6,049 tonnes, recycling accounted for 5,241 tonnes and energy recovery was 808 tonnes. The high calorific value embedded in carpets makes offcuts ideal for energy generation.

“This is a fantastic achievement and testament to the supreme efforts made by our UK-based manufacturers in diverting materials from UK landfill sites, with the obvious benefits in resource recovery and reduced environmental impact,” commented Laurance Bird, Director of CRUK, the industry-backed association for recycling and reusing waste carpet.

“This illustrates that new outlets and innovative end uses for recycled carpet waste are developing all the time. There is a lot of entrepreneurial spirit willing to turn waste carpet into a new raw material resource,” he added.

Key outlets for waste carpet from production processes include:

• Closed loop recovery of raw materials for use in new products
• Fibre recovery for use in non-woven goods
• PP (polypropylene) recovery for use in plastics
• Equestrian surface fibre enhancement

CRUK is managed by resource recovery specialist Axion Consulting and was set up by industry leaders to develop viable solutions to the 400,000 tonnes of carpet waste landfilled in the UK each year. Landfill diversion has grown to 16.5% in 2011, but CRUK aims to hit a recycling target of 25% by 2015.

Carpet Recycling UK welcomes enquiries from all types of organisations interested in recycling their waste carpet and can be contacted on 0161 440 8325 or visit www.carpetrecyclinguk.com.

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