Carpet Landfill Elimination And Recycling (CLEAR), Inc. of Lincoln, CA has emerged as one of several CARE grant-funded projects finding early success in the post-consumer carpet (PCC) recycling market.

CARE awarded the company $350,000 for equipment to manufacture PCC pellets in its new facility, opened in 2016 and located in a Recycling Market Development Zone east of Sacramento. Final products that incorporate CLEAR pellets include shelves, toolboxes and pallets sold by companies such as Lowe’s, and concrete forms incorporating calcium carbonate material from PCC backing. CLEAR also is exploring the manufacturing of PET-based car fiber pad (referred to as shoddy), which is nested within car door interiors.

All of CLEAR’s grant-funded equipment was installed in June 2016, and equipment was added in August to increase the quality and quantity of recycled PCC output. Currently, This project brings additional processing capacity to the state, as well as seven new California jobs.

Clear President Nick Fiore commented,”It is exciting to see several good recycling initiatives rolling out. I believe due to the vision of Cal Recycle and CARE and the grant programs, we will see innovation that will affect not only the California market but will drive change nationally to finally get carpet out of the landfills in significant amounts. These types of programs take time to develop, but we are grateful for the grant and for the support given to us by CARE staff in development and best business practices.”

In November 2015, the California Carpet Stewardship Program launched its grant program, making funding available in two award categories. In May 2016, CARE announced nine grant awards totaling $2 million to fund six Cycle 1A Capital Improvement grant projects and three Cycle 1B Product Testing grant projects. In June, CARE announced procurement grants to encourage the purchase of post consumer carpet products by California public entities.