Carpet America Recovery Effort

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

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2025 Annual Report Public Workshop Announced

join us sept 23

CARE is holding a Public Workshop on the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s 2025 Annual Report, which will be submitted to CalRecycle on September 1st. The Workshop will provide a high level review of the 2025 report and accomplishments. The virtual meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Pacific. 

All interested parties are encouraged to attend.

Register here. Meeting link will be sent upon registration.

The 2025 Annual Report will be posted here by September 1, 2026. 

New Micro and Innovation & Design Grants Support Increased Collection, Reuse and Recycling

carpet recycling research team at work in lab at Birch Biosciences

The carpet recycling team at Birch Biosciences in action.

The California Carpet Stewardship Program has awarded six new grants supporting innovative approaches to increasing carpet collection, reuse and closed loop recycling throughout California.

Cycle 4 Innovation & Design (I&D) grants were awarded to:

Birch Biosciences (Portland, OR) — $50,000
Birch Biosciences was selected to advance an innovative enzymatic recycling technology designed to convert post-consumer polyester carpet face fiber into virgin-quality raw materials suitable for manufacturing new polyester products. The project seeks to establish a true carpet-to-carpet recycling pathway for polyester carpet, while helping manufacturers meet future recycled-content requirements.

Rhea’s Factory (Berkeley, CA) — $100,000
Rhea’s Factory received funding to validate a novel enzymatic recycling process for mixed PET/PTT carpet fiber, one of the most difficult carpet materials to recycle. Using AI-designed enzymes and advanced pretreatment technologies, the project aims to recover virgin-quality monomers from PCC fiber and create a new high-value recycling pathway for materials that currently have limited recycling options.

Rheaply (California-based project) — $50,000
Rheaply was awarded funding to partner with CARE on the development of a carpet tile reuse market infrastructure model. The project will establish data standards, digital workflows, stakeholder engagement processes, and market-development tools designed to make carpet tile reuse more visible, credible, and scalable across California.

Cycle 5M Micro Grants for Collection and Reuse were awarded to:

Colusa County (Colusa County, CA) – $10,000
Colusa County was awarded funding to construct a concrete pad, allowing the County to open its only post-consumer carpet (PCC) collection site. The project will improve site safety and operational efficiency while expanding convenient access to carpet recycling for local residents and businesses.

Holly Home Carpets (San Marcos, CA) – $15,000
Holly Home Carpets received funding to install a concrete pad at its existing public collection facility. The infrastructure improvement will enhance safety, improve unloading operations, and support an anticipated 10–15% increase in carpet collection volumes at this high volume site.

Transportek Logistics (Ceres, CA) – $10,800
Transportek was awarded funding to purchase a loading ramp that will improve the safe and efficient transfer of PCC to recycling facilities. The project supports an important California transportation and recycling partnership and is expected to improve collection logistics throughout Northern California.

Cycle 5M Micro Grants for Collection and Reuse remain open for applications. Eligible organizations are encouraged to learn more and apply at CarpetRecovery.org/Grants.

While Cycle 4 Innovation & Design funding is now closed, additional grant awards may be announced in future e-news editions as CARE continues to review and finalize funding recommendations.

Grant information is regularly updated; see also CarpetRecovery.org/Grants.

New Backstamping Protocol To Support Carpet Recycling

rolls of carpet

To support California’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, the carpet industry has adopted a standardized backstamping protocol. This initiative helps recyclers quickly identify material content, improving recovery and processing outcomes.

Key requirements include:

  • Manufacturer name and production date included on all products
  • Material identification codes for fiber and backing clearly marked together
  • Codes must be easy to read and remain legible throughout the product’s life

How it applies by product type:

  • Broadloom carpet and rugs
  • All fiber and backing materials must be listed (highest content first)
  • Markings must be repeated across the product at set intervals
  • Rugs may use a permanent label instead of printed backing
  • Carpet tile
  • All fiber materials must be listed
  • Only the primary backing system is required
  • Markings must appear on at least 25% of production

All backstamping materials must comply with California safety standards (Prop 65).

This protocol provides a consistent, practical approach to labeling that supports recycling infrastructure and helps meet state compliance requirements (AB863).

CARE-registered manufacturers have received a detailed email with the new protocol.

See updates at CarpetRecovery.org/Backstamping.

Carpet Recycling Program Highlights Sent to Retailers and Installers

CARE’s annual Program Highlights newsletter has been mailed to all retailers and licensed flooring contractors in the state.  The newsletter highlights the end market for recycled carpet material, giving details on the over 130 products that contain recycled carpet. Also included are details of the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s progress in 2025, including the fact that 87% of the carpet that CARE collected in 2025 in California was recycled. Other articles describe the carpet assessment, carpet collection opportunities, grants and installer resources.

The goal of the newsletter is to raise stakeholder awareness of the Program’s activities and to spread the word that carpet is currently being recycled into a multitude of useful products in order to encourage more retailers and flooring contractors to recycle tear-out carpet and carpet tile.

Highlights newsletter - multiple articles

CARE Working with C&D Pros on Carpet Reuse

pallets of carpet tile from tear-out in commercial building

CARE has worked to bring to fruition several recent projects aimed at collecting commercial carpet tile for reuse. In April, 56,900 square feet of commercial carpet (12 pallets) was collected from two buildings in downtown San Francisco, in coordination with Columbia Property Trust and general contractors Richlen Construction and GCI General Contractors. The tile was transported to Repurpose Earth, a women-owned company based in Gardena with a collection point in Union City, and taken for reuse by local community organizations.

“Reuse is an important part of the waste hierarchy,” noted California Program Co-Director Rob Thiess. “The amount of carpet reused in California has soared to 3.56 million pounds in 2025; an over 300% increase since 2021. We hope to continue to grow this number by raising awareness about the reuse option, particularly in the commercial sector.” Carpet tile that is collected is cleaned, graded, and then distributed through a variety of channels, including nonprofit organizations such as churches, shelters, community organizations, and other entities that can benefit from reusable materials, giving the carpet tile a second life in the built environment. 

Many carpet mills offer free takeback programs to capture their products for reuse and recycling. In addition, commercial broadloom or carpet tile jobs of more than 5,000 square yards may be eligible for CARE’s free takeback program. Please complete the Project Takeback form to request a takeback. Contact Rob Thiess with questions.

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