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Carpet recycling scheme to extend to York

A floor covering distributor has expanded its takeback scheme following the success of a pilot in Northampton.

Image credit: Headlam Group

The Headlam Group has announced that the carpet recycling scheme will be extended to York imminently.

It allows customers to take carpets and other similar materials such as underlay to take-back points for recycling by its partner Innovate Recycle.

Clare Moore, chief people and sustainability office at Headlam, said: “We’re embedding ESG principles into the very design of our business.

“Our successful take-back trial in Northampton demonstrated the demand for responsible recycling solutions, and we’re excited to scale this up in York, making it even easier for our customers to recycle responsibly.

“We have heard feedback from fitters that we are stepping up our sustainability approach, and it is fantastic to see this recognition by the industry.”

So far this year, the scheme has disposed of 23,940 tonnes of carpet – representing 67.99% of the volume it had sold in the same period.

At the same time, the company has disposed of 265% more underlay than it has sold thus far into 2025.

Once taken to Innovate Recycle, the carpet fibre undergoes a heat, extrusion and cutting process to form polypropylene pellets, these are then reused in plastic moulding for various products.

Currently most of this material goes to the automotive industry to be used in cars.

Headlam said that its ambition is to ultimately use the material to make recycled yarn.

Sustainability at Headlam

The company released its Sustainability Report this March.

It highlighted several achievements including a 46% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against a 2019 baseline.

The company said that this keeps it “on track” for hitting net zero emissions by 2040.

It also saw a drop in energy intensity through the increased use of solar panel installation and reduced gas usage.

The group said it will keep working with suppliers through Carpet Recycling UK to develop more sustainable products and create a circular product cycle.

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