Carpet Recycling UK.
Seven United Kingdom-based carpet manufacturers that continue to drive sustainability and circular economy principles in the flooring sector were recognized with awards at the Carpet Recycling UK’s 11th annual conference and awards event July 18 in Birmingham. Their efforts have helped divert more than 1 million tons of carpet scrap from landfill, the association says.
Designer Contracts won Take-back Partner of the Year. Distribution manager Glenn Mitchell was also recognized as Recycling Champion for his commitment in encouraging all regional sites to return carpet scrap to the central depot for reuse and recycling.
Edward Clay & Son won the Best Newcomer and Recycler of the Year award while Carpet Tile Recycling was named Reuse Member of the Year for “tireless” work in the past 13 years collecting, grading and marketing carpet tiles for reuse. The 2019 Outstanding Achievement award went to Mike Dobson, general manager at Headlam, for his “responsive and supportive engagement” with CRUK’s activities.
“The industry has made great progress voluntarily in the past 10 years to become greener by working to minimize production waste, develop sustainable products and recycling outlets,” CRUK Scheme Manager Adnan Zeb-Khan said. “In turn, this has created resource and cost savings for companies across the supply chain.”
Delegates heard presentations on how carpet tile reuse and take-back schemes are making a "real difference” in diverting increasing volumes of carpet scrap from landfill. Last year, 175,252 tons of carpet scrap, including carpet tiles, were diverted, representing a diversion rate of 44 percent. CRUK’s target is to increase the tonnage by 10,0000 tons per year.
CRUK has more than 110 members, including founding members Cormar Carpets, Headlam, Brintons Carpets and Milliken. Zeb-Khan said the association’s second decade will “see a renewed focus” on member support, helping organizations throughout the carpet supply chain divert as much carpet scrap from the landfill, creating savings on waste disposal and increasing opportunities for reuse and recycling.
Marcel Knobbe, business unit manager at Betap Tufting B.V., highlighted the development of their “next generation” 100 percent recyclable single polymer carpets that aim to close the recycling loop for carpet.
He said, “Our key focus is transparency in our footprint calculation and sustainable product development to create value for a circular economy. Our new Gold products are made from a mono material, making them easier to recycle as they don’t contain different materials. They can be recycled into a purer granulate that almost equals virgin material and has a high value as a raw material resource for recyclers.
Speakers included Tony Spreckley, director of Envirocycle London, who explained the importance of targeting scrap at the source and discussed the impact of rethinking waste strategies, segregation and engaging demolition and flooring contractors to save scrap from landfill and increase reuse across the nation. In two years, his company has diverted more than 422,300 carpet tiles from landfill to reuse.
“The demolition and refurbishment sector has become a fruitful source of waste materials and we actively urge and educate our providers to rethink their waste strategies,” Spreckley said.