subject: Is Carpet Recycling For You? [print this page] Did you realize that it requires less energy and resources to recycle used products than it does to make new ones? Recycling helps keep our environment cleaner. Recycling is a big business. You have probably heard of paper, plastic, and metal, being recycled. But have you heard of carpet recycling? It is a fast growing industry and one that is helping the country go green.
There are many companies recycling carpet. In the past, old carpet would be thrown in land fills. One hotel with thousands of feet of carpet would simply call, in the past, the waste company and throw out their old carpet when they were upgrading their guest rooms. This is a large amount of material. Did you know that billions of pounds of carpet have gone into the land fills annually up until now?
The carpet is shredded and broken down into fiber and is cleaned. The recycling process removes all the dirt and dust from the carpet. The carpet is then ready to be converted into various products.
You might be surprised at all the products that recycled carpet can be used to make. Of course it is easy to see that one product is new carpet padding. But recycled carpet is also turned into composite lumber that is used for decks and support walls.
Another product carpet is turned into is tile backer board which is used to attach tile to walls and floors. Carpet can be recycled into roof shingles. What was once used on the floor is not used on the roof.
Carpet is not easy to recycle however. The process is tedious and time consuming compared to other recycling jobs. The carpet is made up of the face fiber and the backing system. The face fiber is the area of the carpet you walk on and see on the floor.
The padding has to be torn from the face fiber in order to begin the recycling process. The face fiber makes up approximately half the weight of the carpet. It is the most valuable component of the carpet recycled product.
This process adds time and expense to the process. The profit margin has to be high for more companies to start recycling carpet. As new recycling technology is invented, expect to see more and more companies going into the carpet recycling business. If you are replacing your carpet, before you set it out for the trash man, call a recycling plant.
