Used Carpet Recycling

An Industry Poised for Vast Growth

By Robert Simpson     Source: Flooring Magazine, March 2000

As consumer demand increases for recycled carpet and products that contain recycled compo­nents, carpet and fiber producers are pursuing programs that reduce, reuse and recycle raw materials. Studies by the U.S. Environmental Pro­tection Agency showing that 2 million tons of used carpet were dumped into the nation’s landfills annually prompted E.I.DuPont Co. to establish the industry’s first used-carpet recycling program in 1991.

“When we initiated this program there were few end-uses for recycled carpet and the program was consumer driven:’ said Mark Ryan, manager of environmental ini­tiatives, DuPont Flooring Systems.

Today, used-carpet recycling is driven more by consumer demand than profit. But that’s changing. The result of well-placed research dollars throughout the 1990s and the efforts of the carpet manufacturing industry has been a boom in the variety of products that primarily consist of recycled carpet components. This young industry is on the threshold of becoming a major, profitable venture.

Used-carpet recycling programs were first introduced to commercial carpet retailers as a tool that appealed to an eco­logically conscious market. “Our recycling program provides commercial carpet deal­ers an incentive and a tool for selling DuPont-made products,” Ryan said. “They can assure the customer that the used car­pet will be collected and recycled, while helping the client to specify either a carpet constructed from recycled material or one that can be recycled when the time comes. It is a great tool for the retailer.”

As more commercial carpet retailers entered into carpet recycling programs, the infrastructure necessary to operate these pro­grams also grew. “Collecting, sorting and transporting used carpet was a mammoth challenge:’ said Carroll Turner, technical pro­gram director of the Carpet and Rug Institute. “But now, several carpet and fiber companies and individual entrepreneurs have established a network of collection sites throughout North America"

The DuPont Carpet Reclamation Pro­gram has established 80 collection sites, while Evergreen Nylon Recycling LLC, a joint venture between DSM Chemicals and Honeywell, will collect from an installation site or from a retailer’s place of business.

Collecting, sorting and identifying used carpet once was a challenge for the indus­try; but now new technologies are making this task easier. “Carpet is primarily a man­made fiber, a thermoplastic with more than 250 different forms:’ Turner said. “Backings and latex have various values and come in a tremendous variety of combinations, some obvious and some proprietary.” Affordable new technology such as Honeywell’s CarPID, which uses near infrared analysis, is capable of identifying all the major fiber types.

In 1996, the Carpet and Rug Institute’s recycling committee introduced the carpet code identification system, a bar code on he back of the carpet. “This code, with seven digits, will allow current production to )e identified for future recycling and will help future recyclers economically sort and utilize post-consumer carpet in its highest value applications:’ Turner said.

New technologies that allow manufac­turers to use closed-loop recycling, in which used carpet becomes new carpet, are now becoming economically feasible. Recycling nylon 6 into new nylon fibers has resulted in new recycling facilities throughout the nation. Honeywell and DSM Chemicals recently opened a large-scale closed-loop nylon recycling facility in Augusta, Ga., while both E.I. DuPont and BASF Corp. boast sim­ilar closed-loop facilities, As this technology becomes more economically feasible the number of closed-loop recycling facilities is expected to increase.

In cases where the carpet is not made of nylon 6, the fibers are melted, recycled and compounded with virgin nylon resins for use in other molded-machine, automotive, building or landscaping applications. “These new application have allowed us to expand our program to include every type of car­pet. Our goal is to keep all used carpet from the landfill,” Ryan said.

Recycled carpet is being used for engine fan shrouds, air cleaners, plastic lumber, car­pet cushion and resilient flooring. As the number of applications increases, so too will the number of recycling programs, collec­tion points and factories producing goods. Although most recycling programs are restricted to collecting commercial carpet, this too is about to change. “We are looking for ways to economically enter the res­idential market:’ Ryan said.

As for the future, research is ongoing into the life cycle of carpet and better ways to man­ufacture durable carpet made from natural fibers, new technologies that will eliminate the energy costs associated with production, use and reuse of products. In the interim, work goes on to improve the economic fea­sibility of diverting millions of pounds of carpet from landfills annually.

RECYCLING PROGRAMS BASF Corp.

BASF operates the 6ix Again and 6ix Again Expansion Program. The 6ixAgain program was launched in 1994 and takes back carpet manufactured after Feb. 1,1994, with 100 percent Zeftron Nylon6ix yarn. Using closed-loop technology, nylon 6 is repolymerized into nylon 6ix yarns. The 6ixAgain Expansion program provides an alternative for recycling or disposal of all other types of commercial carpet.

Beaulieu of America

Beaulieu has an internal recycling pro­gram committed to the reduction of waste, with an overall emphasis on landfill-use reduction. The Caladium Division converts PET (plastic) bottles to carpet fiber and mar­kets residential carpet made with 100 percent recycled PET recovered from the bottles.

Burlington Industries

Lees Carpets has a post-industrial program to reduce landfill use. The post-con­sumer and post-industrial recycling program includes converting PVC-backed modular tile. In 1998 Burlington Industries recycled 11 mil­lion pounds of industrial waste.

Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings

Collins & Aikman operates the Infinity Initiative Program, a closed-loop operation for recycling carpet. In this pro­gram, new carpet is made from old, and customers are encouraged to return their carpet for recycling with assurance that 100 percent of the carpet returned will be recy­cled. C&A also offers ER3,vinyl backing that uses 100 percent recycled content.

El. DuPont & Co.

The DuPont Carpet Reclamation Pro­gram collects and processes about 1.5 million pounds of used carpet a month and is set to double this capacity soon. Com­mercial carpet is removed by DuPont Flooring Systems, then collected and shipped to a DuPont Processing Center. There, car­pet content and quality are determined, and the carpets are sorted and evaluated for their recycling value. DuPont is able to manu­facture a Type66 fiber that can contain up to 50 percent post-consumer recycled con­tent from reclaimed carpet. Other products

manufactured from recycled carpet include automotive parts, sod reinforcements, wood-like products, soundproofing and padding. DuPont has 80 collection facili­ties and recycles all types of carpet.

Evergreen Nylon Recycling, LLC

A joint venture between Honeywell and DSM, Evergreen Nylon Recycling depoly­merizes and renews carpets made with nylon 6 back into virgin-quality caprolactam, the building block of all nylon 6 products. ENR outputs 100 million pounds of caprolac­tam a year, requiring 100,000 tons of used carpet made with nylon 6 fiber a year. Car­pet retailers and installers save on tipping/disposal fees as third-party collec­tors will pick up carpet made of nylon 6 at little or no charge. Evergreen Nylon Recy­cling recently opened a large closed-loop nylon recycling facility in Augusta, Ga.

Honeywell (formerly AIIiedSignal)

In June 1999,AlliedSignal launched its renewable Infinity nylon made from post-consumer carpet made with Anso nylon and other nylon 6 fiber. The process keeps approximately 200 million pounds of carpet out of U.S. landfills each year. Infinity nylon is made by depolymeriz­ing nylon back into virgin-quality caprolactam, the building block of nylon 6 and Anso nylon. The process can be repeated indefinitely, with no degradation to the quality of the nylon.

Interface Inc.

Interface has an internal recycling program called Quest/EcoSence in which 100 percent of its industrial waste is recycled. For post-con­sumer products Interface Inc. has the ReEntry program, in which recycled content in all tile and broadloom products ranges from 17.5 per­cent to 20.1 percent.

J&J Industries

J&J last year introduced Encore SD Ulti­ma, a solution-dyed nylon fiber containing a minimum of 10 percent recycled nylon con­tent. Carpets constructed with 100 percent Encore SD Ultima also offer full inclusion into BASF’s 6ix Again program for carpet reclamation.

Milliken Carpet

Milliken Carpet’s Earth Square is the only carpet-renewal process on the market, and it offers companies that are renovating an alternative to disposing old carpet in land­fills. Companies ship their used modular carpet to Milliken, where it is super-cleaned, retextured and restyled. The company then ships the carpet back to the facility, to be rein­stalled and reused.

Mohawk Industries

Mohawk promotes the manufacture and sale of carpet made with Infinity nylon 6 fiber and helps drive the collection of post-con­sumer carpet made with Anso nylon and nylon 6 fiber for recycling. Mohawk plans to introduce commercial carpets that will con­tain Infinity nylon content.

Shaw Industries

Shaw manufactures several products with material recycled from post-consumer and industrial waste. The Endurance II Fiber Pad is made from manufacturing waste, while the EcoSolution Q is supplied with 25 percent recycled nylon content. Shaw’s standard residential polyester carpet is made with 100 percent recycled PET.

Solutia Inc.

Through the Partners for Renewal Pro­gram, Solutia Inc. works with United Recycling to convert post-consumer carpet. The company is currently working on devel­opment of fibers with nylon content.