Carpet America Recovery Effort

Developing Market Based Solutions for the Recycling & Reuse of Post-Consumer Carpet

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CalRecycle Debuts Recycled Content Products Catalog

Recycled Content Products for Construction Catalog from CalRecycle

CalRecycle has published its first Recycled Content Products Catalog for Construction. The online catalog aims to help specification writers, architects and planners find products that range from reuse to recycled content. The catalog is organized in alphabetical order by category of building materials and includes handy contact information for each company listing.

CARE Double GreenTM product manufacturers Bonded Logic, EcoStrate, SafePath Products and Sierra Rubber Company are included in the database, along with post-consumer carpet content products GeoHay erosion control devices and Reliance Carpet Eco-Cushion.

Learn more about post-consumer carpet products here. CARE Market Development Consultant Mike Tinney is available to present to organizations about the creation and procurement of recycled post-consumer carpet products. Email Mike for more information.

California Grant Programs Bolster 2016 Capital, Recycling and Product Development

As a result of CARE’s pilot grant program launched in 2016, so far three new processors have begun recycling post-consumer carpet (PCC), adding millions of pounds of recycled output, 14 new California jobs and over a dozen new recycled carpet products.

In the spring of 2016, CARE’s California Carpet Stewardship Program awarded approximately $2 million in grant funding for six Capital Improvement and three Product Testing projects. 85% of the grant funding was awarded to California-based projects.

The grant funding supports capital investment, infrastructure and/or equipment that will process or manufacture products utilizing California-generated PCC, as well as product testing and research and development activities that investigate the use of PCC to manufacture established products, test or certify new or reformulated products and/or feasibility studies on potential new uses of PCC.

Awarded projects represent a significant expansion in California PCC capacity through:

  • Enhanced or improved operations at one existing California facility,
  • Support of one out-of-state pilot using California PCC with potential for in-state operations in future years and
  • Establishment of four new PCC operations and processors in California (a 200% increase in the number of California PCC facilities).
Employees of Sierra Mat & Rubber mold and press commercial mats made out of recycled California rubber and California post-consumer carpet (PCC) backing material.

As of January 2017, two Capital Improvements grantees, SafePath Products (Chico, CA) and CLEAR (Lincoln, CA), have moved into their new California facilities and begun production of Tier I and Tier II (consumer) products using carpet backing, PET and polypropylene. In addition, Sierra Mat & Rubber in Modesto became a new processor of Double GreenTM products that include both California recycled rubber and carpet backing material. American Fiber Cushion (AFC) also has expanded its Tier I processing operations in Georgia. AFC is also considering a new plant in California. If approved, the plant would be operational some time in 2018.

Under the Product Testing grants program, GHD Inc., in partnership with Humboldt State University, has submitted a draft feasibility study examining PCC’s physical properties for civil engineering applications.

At the end of 2016, grantees under the Capital improvements program had generated approximately 14 million additional pounds of recycled output, increasing total annual recycled output by 50 percent for 2016. Unfortunately, these gains were negated by a significant drop in recycled output by two other processors due to market and technical issues for their operations, but points to the potential increases in future years as facility operations rebound. In 2017, these grantees are expected to add tens of millions of pounds of additional recycled output. As a result, these projects have created 14 new California jobs in 2016; dozens of new recycling jobs are projected in 2017.

Under new Capital Improvements grant projects, a total of 10 new products were created, with an additional seven in progress. Completed products include carpet pad, shelving, toolboxes, ramps and transitions, landscape pavers and commercial mats. A copy of the 2017 products catalog may be found here.  Information on Double GreenTM and other PCC products can be found here. The CalRecycle Buy Recycled guides can be found here.

For more information on CARE grant programs, please contact Abbie Beane  For more information on PCC-derived products and product presentations, please contact Mike Tinney.

CalRecycle Requests Stakeholder Comments to New CARE California Plan

The current CARE California Carpet Stewardship Plan expires on December 31, 2016.  CARE has submitted to CalRecycle a new Carpet Stewardship Plan titled “California Carpet Stewardship Plan 2017-2021”. CalRecycle is requesting any written stakeholder comments on the new Plan by November 14, 2016. Please submit written comments via email to the CalRecycle Carpet Team at carpet@calrecycle.ca.gov.

The following is a direct link to the proposed 2017-2021 Plan, submitted to CalRecycle on October 15, 2016:  http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Carpet/Plans/2017Plan.pdf

This new Plan will be considered at CalRecycle’s December 20, 2016 public meeting, which will be held at the Cal/EPA Headquarters Building at 1001 I Street, Sacramento. 

California Carpet Stewardship Assessment to Increase on January 1, 2017

Increased assessment funds will support carpet recovery efforts through subsidies, grants and other efforts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2016

CONTACT
Robert Peoples
bpeoples@carpetrecovery.org
706.428.2127

Sacramento, CA-The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) has announced an updated assessment fee of 25 cents per square yard on all carpet sold or shipped in California, effective January 1, 2017. The rate is an increase from the previous assessment of 20 cents per square yard. The assessment is collected by the retailer from the consumer, and is then remitted to CARE by way of the carpet manufacturers.
“We are pleased that the California program is seeing a steady increase in recycled pounds this year and expects dramatic growth in incentive payouts beginning in 2017,” notes CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples. “To meet financial obligations to make these payouts, it is necessary to collect additional funds through the assessment.” CARE was pre-approved to implement this increase if deemed necessary, as approved by CalRecycle on January 26, 2016.
CARE employs the assessment funds for the following efforts:
  • Ongoing subsidies to carpet recyclers and processors, to support these businesses at a difficult time for the recycling industry in general and the nascent carpet recycling ecosystem in particular. The subsidies help these businesses stay competitive in challenging economic times.
  • A newly implemented grants program in 2016. To date, $2 million in grants have been approved to encourage investment in carpet recycling facilities and accelerate the development and marketing of products made from recycled carpet fiber. An additional $500,000 grant program this fall will subsidize the public procurement of products made with post-consumer recycled carpet. One hundred percent of these dollars will remain in the State.
  • Expansion of the carpet drop-off site program, with a goal of establishing at least one site in every county in California by July 2017. See an interactive map of drop-off sites here.
  • Continuing education/outreach efforts to carpet retailers, installers and consumers to encourage carpet recycling.
Since July 1, 2011, all California carpet manufacturers and retailers have been required under carpet stewardship law AB 2398 to add an assessment fee onto all carpet sold in the state. The law is designed to increase landfill diversion and recycling of post-consumer carpet generated in California. CARE administers the California Carpet Stewardship Program, which is charged with meeting the requirements for carpet recycling set by AB 2398. In 2015 alone, 103 million pounds of carpet was diverted from the California waste stream through the efforts of retailers, installers, manufacturers, recyclers and the California Carpet Stewardship Program.
The CARE website offers free support and resources for retailers, including email notifications and a 30-minute informational webinar on the assessment on Wednesday, November 16, at 10 a.m. PST. Register here. For more information, visit the CARE website.
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CARE To Review California Subsidy Program Changes

CARE is currently conducting a review of all California subsidy offerings for CSEs, Processors and Manufacturers. Effective Q4 2017 (12 months from the close of Q3 2016), CARE may enact adjustments to subsidy program offerings resulting in reductions, eliminations or other changes to specific subsidy per pound payout amounts.

CARE retains the ability to adjust subsidies upward at any time, subject to other requirements or limitations within the currently approved Plan.

The full notice of subsidy updates can be found here.

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