subject: Carpet Recycling Is The Right Thing To Do [print this page] In a past day and age, if you said you were, going green, with your carpet, it would mean you were getting ready to buy a green rug. Today that statement indicates your involvement in carpet recycling efforts, to help keep carpeting out of landfills.
Four billion pounds of rugs and carpeting are discarded annually in the United States alone. It will require hundreds of years for them to decompose. It is not only becoming a nightmare for municipalities to deal with it, but it is a massive problem for the environment.
Water supplies around landfills are poisoned by all the chemicals that leak into the ground as products decompose. Landfill space is being used up and locations for future landfills are limited. Taxes and the price of products continue to go up in relation to the skyrocketing costs of waste disposal.
In the past few years, a number of manufacturers and private organizations have worked together to come up with programs for carpet recycling. You might be able return your old carpet to your retailer who can send it to a recycle center where it can be used in the manufacture of new products.
Make it a point, when you shop for carpeting to ask the store managers if they are involved in that kind of a program. If you only spend your money at these stores, your message will be communicated perfectly. Then it will be a matter of time, before every retailer will be a part of the solution.
Of all the nations in the world, the United States throws away the most trash and discarded goods. Then we quickly replace the old products with new ones. It is a cultural phenomenon that is not shared, to the same degree, by any other nation.
When Americans visit Europe, a common complaint is that everything in the hotels they stay at is so old. They assume they are pinching pennies, by not replacing things, when the truth is, there's a difference in values. European culture prefers to repair things and make them last for many years longer, even though they have the money to replace them. We could learn a lot from them.
Carpeting can last for a long time and be in good condition if you vacuum and shampoo it regularly. You can choose to replace your carpet even though it is still in good condition, but there is no need to toss it out. Who do you know that who love to have your used carpet, if you would ask them? You might be surprised.
Any number of thrift stores would gladly take it as a donation. Plus, you can find organizations who accept it and give it to individuals who would make great use of it. Go to your favorite search engine and look up, carpet recycling organizations, for phone numbers, so you can speak to people who can give you details.
