Carpet America Recovery Effort

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CARE Thanks Jacy Bolden; California Program Director Position Available

CARE thanks Jacy Bolden for her sterling work as California Program Director.

CARE California Program Director Jacy Bolden will be leaving her position at the end of this month. CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples commented “Jacy has done a wonderful job over her more than three years with CARE. Her quick study, no-nonsense approach and deep understanding has helped us achieve many of our objectives. She was offered an outstanding career opportunity and we wish her all the best – she will really be missed.”

The California Program Director position is open for applicants. Qualified and interested candidates are invited to see the full position description and application link here.

CARE intends to fill the opening as soon as a qualified candidate can be selected. Until that time, CARE is pleased to announce that Grants Manager Abbie Beane will serve in the position of Interim California Program Director as of October 1 and can be reached at ABeane@CarpetRecovery.org.

California’s Carpet Recycling Program Annual Report Shows Improving Recycling Rate, Yield and Technological Advances

Cover of California Carpet Stewardship Program 2020 Annual Report
California Carpet Stewardship Program’s 2020 Annual Report

At a time of immense strain on recycling efforts across the country, carpet recycling saw significant progress in 2020 in California, according to the just-released California Carpet Stewardship Program 2020 Annual Report. The California Program achieved an all-time program high recycling rate of 23.2 percent in Q4 2020, with an overall annual recycling rate of 21 percent in 2020. While it did not meet the target 24 percent goal, the recycling rate for this fossil-fuel-based material is up 107% in the past five years.

68 percent of the carpet collected in California was recycled in 2020. This percentage, called the yield, has grown dramatically over the life of the program from just 28 percent 9 years ago, thanks to expanded processing capacity, growing markets for post-consumer carpet materials and technological advances. Major market development efforts, particularly in the creation of a market for carpet backing material, also known as PC4, has led to this outstanding 68 percent yield rate.
53 foot truck for recycling carpet with CARE logo
in the past five years alone, 292 million pounds of discarded carpet was kept out of California landfills – equivalent to more than 10,000 fully-loaded 53-foot trailers – and recycled into useful new products.

CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples notes, “We are incredibly proud of the determination and resilience shown by the California carpet recycling community. Thanks to their efforts, in the past five years alone, 292 million pounds of discarded carpet was kept out of California landfills – equivalent to more than 10,000 full-loaded 53-foot trailers of carpet – and recycled into useful new products.

According to the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s 2020 Annual Report:
  • The California Program achieved an all-time program high recycling rate of 23.2 percent in Q4, with an overall annual recycling rate of 21 percent in 2020. This is short of the Program’s 24 percent goal but reflects steady year-over-year compounded growth of 20% per year, despite a global pandemic and other challenges, while other materials’ recycling rates have declined.
  • 67 million pounds of post-consumer carpet was diverted from California landfills.
  • 53 million pounds of recycled output was produced.
  • Over 72 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions (MTC02E) was saved.
  • $16.9 million in subsidies supported collectors, processors and manufacturers of recycled carpet material.
  • Nearly $1.1 million in grant funding was paid in 2020. Since 2017, CARE has paid over $8 million to grow carpet recycling via grants for capital improvement, product testing and expansion of collection.
In addition, CARE’s prompt and multi-faceted emergency COVID-19 Action Plan has provided critical support to the industry as it faces the economic and operational challenges of 2020. The Action Plan included special payouts in 2020 totaling $1.6 million to Collector/Sorters, Processors, and Manufacturers, credited with saving the industry from disaster.

 

Collection of carpet is a vital part of the recycling process. By the end of 2020, there were 83 CARE-sponsored public Drop-off Sites in 54 counties (an increase of 150 percent in number of sites from 2016), in addition to the over 230 private collection sites in the state.

 

Through subsidies, grants and technical assistance, CARE supports increased collection and processing of carpet into products containing recycled carpet material. Twenty-four vendors currently incorporate carpet in 76 products for a variety of industrial and retail applications, including automotive plastic components, rubber transition mats, building materials, and absorbency products.
Watch video for highlights of recent progress:

California Program: Q2 2021 Results

CARE’s California Carpet Stewardship Program continued to make progress in Q2 2021. The Recycling Rate for Q2 was 29 percent, setting another high-water mark. The yield (output/collections) — an important measure of recycling efficiency — reached 83 percent. Efforts continue to enable expanded collections to support the higher recycled output. Eighty-four percent of program expenses were paid out in the form of subsidies. In terms of national trends, Executive Director Bob Peoples notes, “All indicators continue to point in the right direction as the U.S. grapples with the latest Covid surge and supply chains remain strained. Transportation costs have doubled and then some in many areas.”
See the presentation:

 

CARE Names Person & Recycler of the Year for 2019 and 2020

Dalton, GA — CARE has announced winners of the Person and Recycler of the Year Awards for both 2019 and 2020 in conjunction with the organization’s 19th Annual Conference, August 31-September 1. CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples explained, “We had to cancel the 2020 Conference due to COVID but did not want to skip recognizing a year’s worth of carpet recycling successes. So at this year’s virtual conference, we are giving awards to the companies and individuals that have worked tirelessly to advance the carpet recycling industry in the face of recent economic and social challenges.”
The awardees are:

2019 Recycler of the Year: Circular Polymers

Circular polymers logoIn 2018 industry veterans David Bender and Nick Fiore joined forces with financial executives Jeff Kupets and Mark Babich to form Circular Polymers. A rising star in the chemical recycling world, Circular Polymers’ disruptive technology transforms post- consumer discarded carpet into new polymer raw materials for use by multiple industries. Their newly expanded facility in Lincoln, California can process some 45 million pounds of carpet per year, with plans to expand further. “Circular Polymers has grown from a small start-up to a major player in carpet recycling. This talented and aggressive organization has been a joy to work with in true partnership as we chart the next stage of carpet recycling in the U.S.” said Peoples.

2020 Recycler of the Year: RISE Composite Technologies

RISE logoFounded in 2017 by Doug Mancosh, Rise Composite Technologies has patented a manufacturing process, RISE TM Technology, that compresses carpet fibers and other synthetic materials into dense and durable wood replacement products, including RISE Siding and RISE Trim. In their state-of-the-art facility in Mankato, MN, RISE participates in the circular economy by recycling and re-purposing expensive polymers used in carpet fibers and other industrial fibers that would otherwise be sent to landfill. “This company has developed its technology and products to become one of the leading market outlets for post-consumer carpet fibers. We are excited by the growth potential and the important role RISE is playing in helping keep old carpet out of landfills,” said Bob Peoples.

2019 Person of the Year: Chad Chaffin, Southeastern Recycling

Chad Chaffin head shot“Chad has been a voice for the recycler community for many years. Since joining the CARE board, Chad has worked to support innovative relationships and programs to help move post-consumer carpet. Chad brings the intense focus and dedication of a race car driver, his former profession, to support the industry,” commented Peoples. Chad reacted, “Although I’ve been in this industry for 20 years, in 2019, I took on a role of leadership on behalf of the Collector/Sorter Entrepreneur (CSE) community. I am surprised but grateful that CARE, the CSEs, the manufactures, the processors, and industry experts recognized me as worthy of this distinct honor.”

2020 Person of the Year: Jeff Kupets, Circular Polymers

jeff kupetsJeff Kupets is Chief Financial Officer of 2019 Recycler of the Year Circular Polymers. For eight years prior to co-founding Circular Polymers, Jeff was Managing Partner of Mustang Trading, an index options trading firm in Chicago. His leadership of the company included risk management, model evaluation and implementation, and regulatory compliance. Bob Peoples stated, “Jeff exhibits the extreme dedication it takes to complete a mission. He has worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to ensure his company would be able to survive and grow… and Circular Polymers have done just that.” Kupets said: “I am honored and truly humbled by this award. While I am the fortunate one to receive it, I need to recognize all of the work that got us to this point by the people at Circular Polymers, BGI, CARE and all of our partners, customers, and vendors. Every step has been a team effort.”

2020 Person of the Year, Special Recognition: Glenn Odom

glenn odomGlenn is a retired executive who has worked tirelessly in his state of South Carolina to facilitate recycling programs for years. Glenn was a CARE board member for many years and upon retirement was asked to stay on as an advisor, a request that is not uncommon of these gentlemen. Glenn brings a business person’s acumen and the passion of a true believer to his efforts. Bob Peoples noted, “Glenn has been a tireless advocate for CARE since the beginning. He has spearheaded a number of important initiatives that have benefited both CARE and more importantly, the whole recycling community.”
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Carpet Recycling & COVID: Navigating the Pandemic

CARE was a silver sponsor of the recent California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) Conference, held virtually August 16-19. CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples participated in a session along with representatives from stewardship groups PaintCare and Mattress Recycling Council about lessons learned from the COVID pandemic.

His presentation can be viewed here.

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