Carpet recycling target met two years early

In 2013, 107,000 tonnes of waste carpet was diverted from landfill across the UK, equating to 27% of the waste material stream the organisation has stated. And, the body says that reuse and recycling of waste carpet increased 19% or by 7,000 tonnes and energy recovery rose 31% or by 15,000 tonnes in 2013 compared to 2012.

The overall percentage represents an increase of 21% (or 22,000 tonnes) on 2012s efforts and means that CRUK has exceeded its target of diverting 25% of carpet from landfill by 2015. The target was set in 2008 to tackle the 400,000 tonnes of carpet waste arising annually.

As such, the industry body has set an ambitious new target of diverting 60% of material from landfill by 2020.

CRUK is an industry body working to increase carpet recycling rates in the UK. Its members include organisations from all areas of the carpet supply chain including material suppliers, distributors, retailers and recyclers.

Commenting on the new target, CRUK director Laurance Bird said: We are confident that this can be reached given the progress rate over the past five years as the demand for carpets as a material stream has steadily increased. Carpet is now regarded as a beneficial resource from which valuable raw materials can be extracted for reuse in a second life.

Possibilities are growing all the time as entrepreneurs from a complete cross-section of manufacturing and commercial enterprises continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved.

Council collections

The increase in volumes collected in 2013 has been attributed to a threefold rise from 15 to 45 in the number of local authorities providing dedicated carpet collection facilities, as well as the creation of new outlets and end uses for recycled carpet waste.

Households are the main source of carpets which are recovered at the end of life via household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) and bulky waste collections. According to CRUK the number of local authorities collecting carpet for reuse, recycling and recovery has increased over the last 18 months meaning that 25% of councils in the UK are now separately collecting carpets at over 200 HWRCs. On average, households dispose of 6.7 kilograms of carpet every year.

Commenting on the importance of council collections, Mr Bird said: Councils continue to be an important focus for us as we encourage more to engage in collecting carpets, which increases their site recovery rates and saves raw materials for reuse or primary fuel replacement.

Carpets from commercial sources such as flooring contractors and retailers are increasingly being segregated so that disposal costs can be reduced, according to CRUK.