New Life for Dead Carpet
By Lynn Blumenstein, Senior Editor, Library Hotline -- Library Journal, 9/15/2007
When Wauwatosa Public Library, WI, needed new carpeting, the replacement process cost more than expected, but you won't be hearing complaints from Director Mary Murphy. Based on a suggestion from vendor Dick Burgmeier of RJB Commercial Flooring of Brookfield, WI, prompted by Mohawk Carpet, the library decided to recycle some 26,000 square feet of used carpet.
The extra outlay, less than $1.50 per square yard, involved hiring a 53' trailer truck to transport the used material, plus scraps from the new installation, to a reclamation plant, as opposed to a landfill. The cost was covered by a bequest and totaled less than one percent of the entire project, said Murphy.
Not all library directors are as amenable. Burgmeier hasn't found another taker among his library clients; most municipal governments can justify the extra expense. But with increased interest among libraries in meeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building requirements, this should change.
Those in the carpeting trade acknowledge that the used-carpet recycling movement has been driven more by the ecologically committed than by the economically conscious. In fact, E.I. DuPont Co. established the industry's first used-carpet recycling program in the early 1990s, not as a profit center but to appeal to conscious consumers and to cope with the more than two million tons of carpet dumped annually in the nation's landfills.
Over the past 15 years, the carpet industry's commitment to recycling has grown. Carpet manufacturers in 2002 established CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort). In partnership with local and federal governments and nongovernmental organizations, CARE aims to increase the amount of recycling and reuse of postconsumer carpet and reduce the amount of waste carpet.
Most major carpet manufacturers have established collection sites nationwide—DuPont alone has 80—and actively promote the service. Burgmeier and other vendors offer the recycling service to their clients, although libraries can take on the initiative to do so themselves. More than 50 reclamation centers nationwide convert the used carpeting into new products. These include carpet, synthetic gardening mulch, automotive parts, air filters, plastic bottles, and more.
Recycling costs can be reduced with proper preparation, explains Mohawk representative Gail Teston. A library can qualify for the cheaper “pull and go” rate by arranging to take up the carpet, package it, and load it into a collection truck. For their efforts, Teston reports, recyclers are acknowledged with a laminated certificate of completion from Mohawk, stating how much they saved from the landfill and how many pounds they recycled.
