Joe Eccleston is CEO of Innovate Recycle, Ltd., a leading recycler of polypropylene carpet in the UK. Here he shares his experience and vision for carpet recycling now and in years to come.
What does Innovate Recycle do?
We are the first to market in the UK/Europe to recycle end-of-life polypropylene carpet into pellets, which are then incorporated into products used in sectors such as automotive, horticulture and construction, making interior car parts, paint trays, plant pots and other injection molded items.
We work with some 50 collector partners and take daily delivery; there is no charge for delivered material. The Innovate Recycle process reclaims polypropylene fiber, which provides exceptional qualities of purity, strength and recyclability and an end-of-line product that can be repurposed to manufacture components across a wide range of industries. Our process also reclaims calcium carbonate for reuse in the cement, soundproofing, plastic industries, as well as potentially going back to the carpet industry.
How did you get into this field?
My parents started a carpet retail business in 1988 in Ashby De La Zouch (in the Midlands, about 100 miles northwest of London), so I grew up in the carpet world. I took over the company after buying out my parents in 2013 and started looking into growing the business. I could see that polypropylene was dominating the broadloom market (both residential and commercial) and wanted to look into what we could do to help the environment by improving recycling (or in this case, start a recycling facility – pictured above).
Why polypropylene?
The UK has a huge focus on polypropylene carpet; with both the face and backing fiber the same, Innovate Recycle has made this a particular part of the long-term solution due to its consistent fiber material design for a uniform processable/recyclable carpet. With polypropylene being a versatile and widely consumed global plastic, sales outlets don’t become oversaturated or restricted. Following this type of design could offer a united approach to carpet recycling here and across the globe.
Our long-range vision is for there to be a single, mono-fiber design for broadloom carpet. If all mills could focus on producing single DNA polymer carpet–then fiber and backing from all mills could undergo the same recycling transformation regardless of its country of origin.
What inspired you on this journey?
Innovate Recycle would not exist if weren’t for CARE. CARE’s 25 years of work has paved the way, allowing us to take their learnings and evolve them to benefit all sides. CARE has huge influence in the marketplace–their experience, education efforts and investment in technology have been integral to our development.
CARE’s Executive Director, Bob Peoples, replied: “We deeply appreciate that CARE was able to play a small role in the evolution of Innovate Recycling. It is exciting to work with an innovative leader driven to make a difference. Our global footprint seems to be expanding and we are excited to contribute.”
How can circular design consistency help with recycling?
A uniform, long-term, preferably voluntary agreement on carpet design would enable businesses to plan and expand with confidence. Consistent design would offer commercial opportunities – so industry can grow and better itself. If we got that right, then the need for EPR legislation to cover non-conforming material could reduce or even drop away.
For now, we are asking mills to stick with traditional method of making carpet until it can come together to standardize carpet production. Someday we’d like to see a global alliance on carpet circularity with realistic goals of increasing the recyclability rate each year.
Your focus is on broadloom; what about recycling carpet tile?
At the moment, we are seeing little to no engagement from manufacturers in Europe because there is no legislation requiring recycling. Recycling carpet tile is resource-intensive and finding uses for the calcium carbonate backing is a challenge, as CARE knows.
How is the carpet recycling industry and your work different in the UK from the US?
There is no carpet EPR law in the UK (as there is in California); we are working to support an alliance of all manufacturers to develop a voluntary program with the end goal of increasing recyclability year over year.
A huge difference is in the culture of the two nations. On a trip to the US, I overheard a 10 million Dollar deal being made at the buffet of a California casino! In the UK there is less appetite for supporting pioneering companies, and more emphasis on due diligence, paperwork and planning. In Britain we need more openness to risk and a change in how risk is viewed, because failure is how we all learn from others for our companies.
Where do you envision Innovate Recycle in three years?
We are concentrating on building the central team and fundraising now to build on our success. We currently have the capacity to process 44 million pounds of carpet per year at our Northampton site. We are working towards $68-$135 million infrastructure fundraise to roll out three plants capable of each processing 88 million pounds of carpet per year, along with a dedicated pelletizing center. We’re looking to grow to eight plants across the UK, then to explore other opportunities in Europe, Turkey and beyond.
Thanks for your responses. Will we be seeing you at CARE’s next Annual Conference, next May 5th & 6th in Chattanooga, TN?
I would love to attend and see what value Innovate Recycle can add!
Pictured: CEO Joe Eccleston being interviewed by the BBC Breakfast News at the Innovate Recycle carpet recycling facility, Northampton, England