In This Issue:
- 5th Annual CARE Conference
- CARE Holds 3rd Annual Entrepreneur Meeting
- CARE, NYCORE, LokBlok Sizzle At GreenBuild Show
- Axsun Technologies’ Anavo™ Identification System
- Polychromix PHAZIR™ Identification System
- 24 New Reclamation Facilities in 2006
- Board of Directors & Staff News
- StarNet/CARE Reclamation Program & Pfizer Inc. – Case Study
- CARE Receives Major Donation
- ERCS Receives Grant
- CARE Announces Five New Sponsors
- Did You Know…?
- Letters …
Dear CARE Supporters
Every year since CARE’s inception seems to be a major one, but 2006 was truly a springboard year for carpet recycling. The activity level continues to grow as you will see from the extensive content in this edition of our newsletter. Sponsorships grew dramatically as did the number of new players – participants who see the CARE mission as a vital one both for the environment as well as for the carpet industry. To keep up with the tremendous increase of activity and interest, it is my pleasure to announce that after graduation from Dalton State College, Jeremy Stroop went full time as of January 2 and is now CARE’s Operations Manager. Jeremy is CARE’s first full time staff member, and his attention to detail and commitment to the mission is reflected in every task. He is actively working on this year’s CARE Conference to make it one of the best, and I invite you to contact Jeremy if you have any questions about the Conference and his new responsibilities.
Although we finished 2006 with great accomplishments, we were saddened earlier this new year to learn of a major fire at Columbia Recycling in Dalton resulting in the death of one of their employees. Rob Goldberg and Rocky Ponders of Columbia have been strong players in the recycling arena including plans for a major expansion for post-consumer carpet. CARE stands ready to support Columbia as they rebuild and look toward the future. The industry needs their involvement and expertise.
I invite you to thoroughly review the information in this publication so that we can continue to expand our dialogue and move forward at an even more accelerated rate. The 5th Annual CARE Conference is another milestone to celebrate, and I invite you to join us in Charleston May 8-10. Conference registration and hotel information are on the web site – register today so you don’t miss out.
Robert Peoples, Executive Director, Carpet America Recovery Effort
5th Annual CARE Conference
5th Annual CARE Conference….It’s Up to You!!
CARE is an organization dedicated to its mission to keep carpet out of landfills. It is a member-driven organization. To that end we need your input asap. Tell us what you want to hear, need to learn, want to see and issues to resolve, and we will focus on that at the meeting.
Conference Details
The 5th Annual CARE Conference will be held at the Francis Marion Hotel located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. The conference will highlight government procurement activities, advances in identification technology, market development updates, advances in materials processing technologies, carpet manufacturers’ programs, CARE updates and the release of CARE’s Annual Report.
CARE will also recognize the “Recycler of the Year” and the “Person of the Year” during the Annual CARE Awards Banquet.
The Francis Marion Hotel demonstrates their commitment to environmental sustainability by their participation in the Green Hotel Association.
In order to take advantage of the CARE group discounted room rate hotel reservations must be made on or before April 6, 2007. Due to the limited number of rooms available at the Francis Marion Hotel, it is suggested that reservations be made at the earliest possible date to ensure availability.
5th Annual CARE Conference Webpage
CARE Holds 3rd Annual Entrepreneur Meeting
CARE recently held its 2006 Annual Entrepreneur Meeting in Tampa, FLA. This year saw 44 people in attendance, about 40 percent which are brand new to CARE since the May Entrepreneur Meeting, continuing to show the growth in the carpet reclamation industry.
This year the meeting had a dual function. The first was to help educate some of the newcomers in the basics of carpet identification, sorting, separating, bailing, and supply logistics. Secondly, several more advanced topics were discussed. New identification technology was introduced in the form of the Polychromix handheld Phazir unit. Photos may be found on CARE’s Entrepreneur Resource Webpage.
CARE would also like to acknowledge the generous support of our meeting sponsors:
Additional information is available is on the CARE website under Entrepreneur Resources. Also, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Fifth Annual CARE Conference in Charleston, SC., which will run from May 8 – 10th
CARE, NYCORE, LokBlok Sizzle At GreenBuild Show
The Annual U.S. Green Building Council GreenBuild Show was recently held in Denver, Co., and aside from the numerous carpet manufacturers and CRI members that had a presence at the show, the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) joined forces with NYCORE and LokBlok in an effort to showcase the many strides the carpet industry has made in carpet reclamation and the numerous products containing post-consumer recycled carpet. The trio shared a large booth at the event and traffic for the three-day event was at an all-time high. Many contacts were made and each of the representatives at the booth came away from the show energized over the success of the show and the prospects that were mined.
NYCORE, headquartered in Atlanta Georgia, was CARE’s Recycler of the Year award winner in 2004 and markets building products made primarily out of recycled carpet. LokBlok has partnered with NYCORE to produce a patented interlocking block that replaces cement blocks and hopes to be commercially available in 2007. Much of the GreenBuild attendance this year was comprised of builders who flocked to find out about the new product. Some 15,000 attendees were represented at this year’s show..
Greenbuild 2007 – November 9-7, Los Angeles, California
Axsun Technologies’ Anavo™ Identification System
Billerica, Massachusetts (January 25, 2007) – Axsun Technologies today introduced their second- generation Anavo™ material identification system. This system is based on the Axsun carpet analyzers that have been in use in the carpet recycling industry since early 2006. The new system is smaller and lighter than the original version, and is designed to insure reliability and survivability in the field..
Polychromix PHAZIR™ Identification System
New! Polychromix announces the PHAZIR Carpet ID System. The Polychromix Phazir is the first of its kind fully handheld carpet identifier. Ergonomically designed for user friendly operation, the Phazir provides fast, accurate and reliable results!
PHAZIR Brochure (282 KB)
24 New Reclamation Facilities in 2006
Since the beginning of the carpet reclamation movement, it has been understood that in order to achieve CARE’s goal of 40% diversion, a nationwide infrastructure of carpet reclamation facilities would be necessary. For this reason, CARE is extremely pleased to announce that 2006 showed the greatest growth in the number of reclamation centers since the inception of the Carpet America Recovery Effort in 2002. This year alone, 24 brand new reclamation centers have sprung up to join the effort to divert post-consumer carpet from our nation’s landfills..
CARE would like to mark this momentous occasion by announcing the launch of its interactive Reclamation Partner Map. The interactive map features a zoom and roll-over option to make it easier to locate and contact reclamation facilities within each state. CARE has also made available a printable list of all the reclamation facilities within the United States on the same webpage. The new interactive map has enabled us to move one step closer to making it simple to collect and recycle post-consumer carpet. Take a look to see where you can take your old carpets next time you remodel.
Visit the Reclamation Partner Map
Board of Directors & Staff News
Georgina Sikorski Steps Down as CARE Board of Director Member
CARE would like to acknowledge and thank Georgina Sikorski for her creativity, hard work, and dedication while serving as a member of CARE’s Board of Directors. Georgina’s insight and experience has been a valuable asset to CARE, helping to influence the overall direction of the organization and the recovery effort. Georgina chose to leave Invista, and CARE would like to wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors, and express our gratitude for her willingness to serve as a member of CARE’s Board of Directors.
CARE Hires First Full-Time Staff Member
CARE is pleased to announce that Jeremy Stroop has been brought onboard as CARE’s Operations Manager and first full-time staff member. The majority of his focus over the next few months will be centered on making the 5th Annual CARE Conference an event worthy of attendance for those interested in the recovery and reuse of post-consumer carpet. Jeremy would like to express his gratitude to Dr. Bob Peoples, Frank Hurd, CARE’s Board of Directors, and the CARE community for the opportunity of working with the Carpet America Recovery Effort.
StarNet/CARE Reclamation Program & Pfizer Inc. – Case Study
In 2003 Pfizer Inc., which is headquartered in New York City with campuses and production facilities around the nation and globe, embarked on a large scale office expansion, redevelopment and retrofit project. New office space was purchased, and Pfizer developed a multi-year plan to move and update many of its Headquarters’ spaces. Pfizer’s mandate of corporate responsibility led the construction planners to look for ways to recycle the old carpet in the spaces that were undergoing construction. Pfizer saw the opportunity to keep large quantities of old carpet from being hauled to landfills. Pfizer looked at carpet recycling as the environmentally responsible thing to do. Working with Consolidated Carpets in New York City and CarpetCycle of Elizabeth NJ, Pfizer was able to accomplish their objective.
The StarNet/CARE case study highlights the challenges, solutions, and environmental impacts of the Pfizer Inc. post-consumer carpet reclamation project. The study pays particular attention to the synergy achieved through mutually beneficial partnerships between customers, carpet installers, and reclamation facilities. A quantitative analysis of the environmental benefits derived from the recycling of 84,000 square yards of post-consumer carpet during this project is also available.
CARE Receives Major Donation
A major donation was received from a “friend of the carpet recycling industry.” The donation came from a family foundation, and we are very grateful for this support and hope it leads to further donations by others in the future.
Thank You For Your Generosity!!!
ERCS Receives Grant
Environmental Recovery & Consolidation Services (ERCS) has been awarded a grant from the State of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). The Grant will help purchase a baler and conveyer system.
For more details go to: MassDEP Press Release
CARE Announces Five New Sponsors
CARE is excited to announce the addition of five new corporate sponsors to the growing carpet reclamation movement.
See the complete list of CARE’s Sponsors
DID YOU KNOW…?
- In the US 2.5M plastic bottles are disposed of every hour. Conversely, about 570K pounds of old carpet is sent to the landfill every hour!
- 80% of the forests that once covered the earth are now gone.
- Over the next 20 years the average supply of fresh water per person is expected to drop by one third while demand is growing at an unsustainable rate.
Everyone of us can make a difference-if we choose to!
Do you have an interesting story or factoid about recycling carpet? Send it to CARE by email and if we use it we will send you a CARE mug to proudly display.
Letters…
State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Dear Dr. Peoples,
Thank You for participating in the recent meeting of the New Jersey Waste Wise Business Network. Your presentation on the carpet industry’s efforts to advance carpet recycling was interesting, informative, and helped to make the meeting a success.
Thanks again.
Steven Rinaldi
NJDEP, Bureau of Recycling and Planning
Dalton State College
Dear Jeremy,
I want to thank you very sincerely for coming to talk to my Environmental Studies classes twice this past October 19th and October 25th. It was a very nice, interactive presentation, with nice exhibits, and produced a lot of interest from the students. I think they all learned quite a lot about the environmental issues faced in recycling. I think they are amazed by some of the facts and figures you presented, especially the use of so many recycled materials to make different objects.
I do appreciate your effort to come to our class, and wish to thank you again for your excellent presentation.
Dr. David Wiedenfeld, Ph.D.
Department of Natural Science and Mathematics
We would like your feedback on this newsletter, ideas, concerns, or questions. We’ll include them in future newsletters.
Thanks!