Blog – Page 4

New Grant Cycle for Carpet Collection/Reuse Now Open

March 4, 2021

CARE announces a new cycle of its successful Micro Grants Program for Collection/Reuse.

The purpose of the Micro Grants Program for Collection/Reuse – Cycle 4M is to promote the additional collection and reuse of California post-consumer carpet (PCC). The definition of “additional” under this program is PCC that was previously sent to landfill, alternative daily cover, waste-to-energy, kiln or used for carpet-as-alternative-fuel. Cycle 4M funds will be awarded for the infrastructure projects and/or purchase of equipment that supports the operational logistics of properly collecting and/or reusing California PCC under a new or established program.

$100,000 is funded for Cycle 4M (2021/22) Micro Grants Program for Collection/Reuse. Maximum grant awards for Cycle 4M will be limited to $15,000 for each grant awarded under this Program.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a continuous basis through 2021. Grantees must achieve project completion by December 31, 2022, or within one year of the project’s Notice to Proceed, whichever comes first. See the Solicitation below for complete details on eligibility, requirements and schedule:

Cycle 4M Micro Grant Solicitation

Cycle 4M Micro Grant Application Form

CARE Micro Grant Budget Template

Bena Sanitary Landfill Collects Most Carpet in California in 2020

February 24, 2021

CARE drop-off site B ena Sanitary Landfill in Bakersfield collected over 1.6 million pounds of carpet in 2020 – the most of any CARE drop-off site in California. We spoke with Sergio Furtado, Public Works Maintenance Superintendent, to find out more about the site’s successful operations.

bena landfill staff — Bena Sanitary Landfill staff Gabriel Martinez, Ike Hornsby, Alexis Caseres and Ramon Garcia

Why do you think Bena Landfill has been so successful at recycling carpet?

Furtado observed that Bena Landfill was a high-volume site, the largest in Kern County, with expanded loading dock and collection areas. Carpet — like any recyclable material that comes to county landfill – gets a 50% “source separated discount” if it is separated and brought directly to the recycling area. He noted that besides the savings on tip fees, contractors save time by going straight to the recycling area, bypassing the line used by the franchise haulers.

Furtado credits staff education for increased carpet collection: “Our staff is part of the hazardous waste exclusion program – when they see loads bypassing recycling, they redirect them to the recycling area. Our field supervisor has the right staff on the dock who know what needs to be loaded and what can’t be.” Reinforcing good news is also helpful: when Bena Sanitary Landfill was recognized on a recent CARE call, Furtado printed out copies of the recognition to pass out to the staff.

How do contractors find out about carpet recycling?

“For every new program, we put out a media release.” For contractors, word of mouth is also important: “It starts at the gatehouse.”

How has the CARE drop-off site program helped you?

Furtado said a major advantage was scheduling a regular trailer pickup day: “We’re on a regular schedule with swaps. If there’s not enough carpet, we will cancel, but the pickup day is not a guessing game.” Another winner is the CARE recycled product catalog and samples: “Customers like to know what’s going to happen with their material.”

Do you have future plans to increase recycling?

Furtado said they have a huge area for mattress and carpet recycling: “We’re looking at covers to keep material dry – even though there’s not a lot of rain in Kern County. But that’s a big project that will take some time.”

CARE Releases Reuse Study RFP

February 8, 2021

CARE has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Reuse Study on Post-Consumer Carpet Barriers and Opportunities.

The purpose of this project is to inform CARE on the possible barriers and opportunities to increasing the reuse of carpet as a floor covering. Since inception in 2011, statistics on the amount of carpet diverted through reuse generally reflects an upward trajectory; however, since a high of 926,000 pounds in 2016, reuse has seemingly plateaued.

Deadline for proposal submission is noon Pacific, March 5, 2021.

Preference is given to California-based proposers.

Download the full RFP here.

CARE CA Program Q3 2020 Results Show Resilience

December 11, 2020

Despite the economic and operational disruptions caused by the pandemic, California’s carpet recycling rate rebounded to 20.5% in Q3 2020, up from 19.8% in the second quarter, according to CARE’s latest quarterly update for the California Carpet Stewardship Program. Residential carpet sales were up versus Q2, while commercial carpet sales lagged as employees worked from home and major projects were postponed.

The Program in Q3 saw:

21.8 Million pounds of carpet collected (+31% vs. Q2)
14.3 Million pounds of recycled output (+32% vs. Q2))
$5.27 Million in subsidy payouts.

Dramatic Difference

CARE continues to evaluate the pandemic impacts and review the Covid Action Plan on an on-going basis.The COVID-19 impact on both sales of new flooring as well as the carpet recycling community has been significant. According to direct feedback from a stakeholder, CARE’s COVID Action Plan “made a dramatic difference for all of us in the carpet recycling community. The industry stood on the precipice of imploding. The immediate and measured proactive initiatives undertaken by CARE… were not mere handouts, but tactical financial assistance measures that served to ensure market stability.”

View the complete presentation here:

CARE CA Program Q3 2020 Report from Carpet America Recovery Effort

CARE Grant Case Study: Moto’s Transportation

September 24, 2020

Project Description

Large retailers, generating post-consumer carpet, can benefit from an on-site container specifically for carpet and pad recycling. Moto’s Transportation, an established hauling/transport company in the Sacramento area, created an avenue for local retailers to dispose of post-consumer carpet, generating an additional capacity to their services. The CARE capital grant funded the purchase of 12 trailers to place at local retailers and two trucks to haul carpet for processing at a local recycler.

Location: Greater Sacramento

Timeline: June 30, 2019 – September 30, 2020

CARE Grant Amount: $150,000

Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a slowdown in demand as some retailers temporarily closed or saw declines in business.

Nelson Moto photo — Nelson Moto of CARE grantee Moto’s Transportation

Project Benefits and Outcome

The volume of carpet collected increased significantly and quickly. By Q1 2020, 3.67 million additional pounds of carpet was collected and 3.59 million pounds in Q2 2020.

Trailers dedicated for carpet collection facilitated source separation, while simultaneously enabling retailers a significant financial benefit from the expense of sending carpet to landfill. Moto was able to grow from servicing ten retail customers to thirty in less than a year.

“The CARE grant helped me expand my business. Applying for the CARE grant was pretty simple; my administrative team was able to easily navigate through the system.”

–Nelson Moto, President, Moto’s Transportation

Implementation

Moto leveraged established relationships to place all 12 trailers within a few months.

Visit our Post Consumer Carpet Products page.

Visit the CARE grants page.

This is one of a series of case studies that illustrate the impact of grant funding on the carpet recycling industry in California.
CARE will offer a Cycle 2 round of grants to support capital improvements and product testing in late 2017. Sign up for updates here.

Other Grantee Case Studies:

CARE Grantee Case Study: CLEAR

CARE Grant Case Study: Florin Perkins

CARE Grantee Case Study: GHD, Inc.

CARE Grant Case Study: Napa Recycling

CARE Grantee Case Study: Safepath Products

CARE Grantee Case Study: Sierra Mat & Rubber