Recyclable Carpet Gains Colorado Share

Riverstone Residential Group, one of the nation's largest independently owned property management companies, is installing recyclable carpet in 5,000 of its apartment units in Colorado. That figure adds up to nearly one-third of the properties the company manages in the state.

Dallas-based Riverstone Residential Group is claiming to be the first apartment property management company to use carpet made exclusively with 100 percent recyclable carpet fiber in Colorado.

Some carpets being removed from existing apartments will also be recycled, according to a Riverstone press release. The company plans to incorporate the installation of recyclable carpets into all of the units it manages in Colorado – nearly 17,000 - over the next 18 months, and then on a continual basis as it renovates units and as products become available.

Riverstone is partnering with Arbor Contract Carpet in the venture, according to Tim Babcock, V.P. of Riverstone Residential Group. Arbor’s Infinity collection of recycled carpet is the first 100 percent recyclable nylon carpet line for the apartment industry, according to the Irving, Texas carpet company.

In 2008, Arbor estimates it will divert approximately 10 million pounds of carpet from landfills while reducing greenhouse emissions and the required water, energy, and oil consumption involved in new-carpet manufacturing.

For Riverstone’s Colorado properties, purchasing recyclable carpet for 17,000 apartments means approximately 2.5 million pounds of carpet fiber diverted from landfills. “This move puts Riverstone’s commitment to the environment into real action,” he states, “providing clients with quality and conscientious choices.”