Carpet Waste Woes

According to the latest U.S. EPA statistics, about 7 billion pounds of carpet was sent to the landfill in 2009, up nearly 23% from the 5.7 billion pounds in 2000. Carpet is most often the largest source of waste (and cost) for rental properties during turnover. Rental properties across the country are covered in low grade carpet because carpet companies have succeeded in offering a cheap and quick replacement. Depending on carpet quality, tenant care and turnover the average replacement is less than 5 years for each unit.

There are a variety of different flooring options with longer lifetimes and greener aspects but many prefer to purchase carpet because of the convenience and look. One of the major reasons that our landfills are steadily receiving more carpet is the lack of recycling availability.
Currently less than 8% of all carpet is recovered (different than recycled for another use). The carpet industry is full of sustainable language and pledges to reduce the amount of waste from their plants but offers very little recycling incentives.

Most often when replacing a carpet the installer will remove the existing carpet, backing and padding to haul away. Seldom do these carpet companies and/or installers dispose of the used carpets at recycling centers. I recently asked a large retail carpet installer if they would recycle the used carpet we replaced. They replied that “nobody does that.”

This prompted a search for recovery centers in the West. The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) has a map of carpet reclamation centers. West of the state of Texas there are less than 20 participating centers. Further, many of these centers only accept used carpets directly from installers/retailers. Many of the carpet recycling programs established by the large manufacturers have dried up or target only gigantic commercial customers.

Part of the problem is that over 80% of the US carpet production is manufactured within a 65 mile radius around the small Georgia town of Dalton. Collecting and shipping millions of pounds of used carpet to one central location is cost prohibitive. Some of the independent carpet recovery centers have come up with resourceful businesses to break down the carpets for raw materials and alternative products. Until the carpet industry invests more interest and capital into regional reclaim facilities the landfills will continue to accommodate more and more carpet waste.

The next time your units are in need of new flooring consider the massive waste the carpet industry is happy to supply. According to the major carpet manufacturer, Interface, carpets last 20,000 years in a landfill. More durable, green and cost-friendly alternatives do exist. Consider linoleum, bamboo, cork, ceramic tiles and laminate flooring as alternatives. See Rent It Green: Flooring for more information.