In 2024 the CARE California Carpet Stewardship Program managed 15 grants totaling $881,000 awarded to 14 entities, a significant investment that builds on the state’s carpet recycling success. Important advances were made in expanding convenient collection across the state, as well as tackling fiber identification and difficult-to-recycle post-consumer carpet (PCC) components.
The Program funded two Capital Improvement Grants to California entities, totaling $276,000, that are projected to expand recycled output by 4 million pounds annually and grow and improve collections by 600,000 pounds per year. The Program also funded approximately $100,000 in two Product Testing Grants to find higher and better uses for PCC backing (PC4) – see photo – as well as strategies and parts for repairing carpet fiber identification technology. This ID tool is no longer being manufactured and its longevity is critical until new fiber ID technology is fully developed. Read the case study on the CARE website.
CARE’s Innovation & Design (I&D) Grants Program awarded two new grants, totaling $200,000, for projects at University of California Davis and Arizona State University to explore more sustainable applications for PET fiber and PC4 backing material. UC Davis is planning to improve the physical properties of PC4-content lightweight aggregate and conduct a lifecycle analysis comparing the environmental impacts of PC4 aggregate to traditional aggregate. The ASU grant funds research on the inclusion of PET fiber in concrete applications. I&D projects are ongoing at University of California Santa Barbara to explore recycling options for PCC tiles, and at West Virginia University, which has successfully recycled PC4 into fiber-reinforced polymer composites. These composites may be used in transportation or construction applications, such as building materials and infrastructure.
CARE oversaw seven California-based Micro Grant projects totaling $105,000 to support an additional annual 654,000 pounds in collections via private pickup service and three new public drop-off sites. Two new sites are located in rural counties and fulfill statewide convenient collection goals.
New Grant Cycles Open
CARE has launched new cycles of its capital, testing and I&D grant programs, with applications due on March 31, 2025. In addition, CARE is continuing the micro grant program in 2025 on a first-come, first-served basis. The capital and micro grant programs are open to California-based entities only. For more information and application forms, visit the CARE grants webpage.
Since 2016, CARE has paid out more than $10,300,000 in grants.
For questions about the CARE grants program, please email Abbie Beane, CARE grants manager, at ABeane@CarpetRecovery.org.
