|
|
What Happens to Carpet When it is Recycled?You have made the right decision to recycle your old carpet and pad. But what happens next? Putting used carpet and pad in a CLEAR Recycle container begins an involved, labor-intensive process. Believe it or not, several options exist on how to handle recycled carpet. Some are better than others. Harvested FibersCarpet fibers are recovered from recycled carpet and used in the production of new products, such as picnic tables, automobile parts, erosion control products and even new carpet. When discarded carpet arrives at the recycle process center, it is separated by hand and sorted by type. Each pile is then processed, where we remove the fibers from the carpet backing. The fibers are sent to manufacturers for additional processing and used to make new products. Carpet BackingOnce the fibers have been removed from the carpet, the backing remains. This is a mixture of several possible materials, including jute, latex, cord, PVC and so on. In recent years, progress has been made in the usefulness of carpet backing and, as a result, has added to the overall benefit of carpet recycling. Some carpet recyclers send their remaining carpet backing to the Far East for processing, where environmental laws regarding disposal are less stringent. CLEAR Carpet Recyclers does not engage in practices like this and keeps 100% of all recovered carpet in the United States for environmentally-responsible processing. Re-Use CarpetThere are efforts by some reclamation companies to re-use recovered carpet. This process entails cleaning, restoring and re-coloring the carpet. Not all recycled carpet is usable for this method, since only lighter-colored carpet is able to be re-colored. Waste-to-energy (WTE) or Carpet as a Fuel (CAAF)In this scenario, carpet waste is sent to an incinerator and burned to create energy. The process is complicated and carpet-as-a-fuel is not as efficient as feedstock compared to other waste-to-energy efforts. However, given the choice of sending to a landfill or using as waste-to-energy alternative, WTE is the preferred option. Recycling Carpet is EasyWant to learn more? Do you have used carpet and pad that you want to get rid of? Visit the CLEAR web site for more information.
|
|
