CARE has created a conversational-style video that describes the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s grant program, including categories of grants, results to date and how to apply. View it below.
See the CARE grants page for updates.
CARE Names Person and Recycler of the Year
CARE CEO and Executive Director Bob Peoples with Sandy Eppard of Recycler of the Year Bentley Mills and Person of the Year David Bender of Circular Polymers by Ascend
CARE announced winners of the Person and Recycler of the Year Awards for 2025 on May 5th in conjunction with the organization’s 24th Annual Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 2025 Person of the Year is David Bender, CEO of Circular Polymers by Ascend in Lincoln, California. The 2025 Recycler of the Year is California carpet manufacturer Bentley Mills. In addition, a Special Recognition Award went to Doug Mancosh, CEO of RISE Composite Technologies (now RISE® by CertainTeed).
CARE Person of the Year David Bender is co-founder and chief executive officer of Circular Polymers by Ascend, a market leader in reclaiming alternative feedstocks into polymer. Circular Polymers converts nylon, polyester, and polypropylene carpet and field turf into clean feedstock for a new life. Under David Bender’s visionary leadership, Circular Polymers by Ascend has grown to be one of the leading recyclers of post-consumer carpet and other materials in the world. David’s entire career is defined by a commitment to value creation through innovation and collaboration. He has worked in the recycling sector for over 15 years, founding and leading PET bottle-to-bottle plants. Prior to recycling, David led Havi Global Solutions, a company with 50 offices in 25 countries focused on packaging, supply chain and marketing analytics. He is a member of California’s Carpet Stewardship Advisory Committee and is a graduate of Northwestern University.
CARE Recycler of the Year Bentley Mills has manufactured and marketed award-winning broadloom, carpet tile and area rug products for interiors across the globe since 1979. As California’s only commercial carpet manufacturer, Bentley Mills is committed to sustainable commerce and social responsibility, achieving top industry certifications, including Cradle to Cradle and NSF® 140. They operate a LEED-EBOM® Gold carpet manufacturing facility. Under new statutory requirements for post-consumer carpet content for new carpet in California, Bentley was the first mill to be able to meet this goal, and ahead of schedule.
Special Recognition went to Doug Mancosh, who was recognized for his steadfast commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit by building successful companies. His most recent success was RISE Composite Technologies, which uses large amounts of post-consumer carpet fibers to build high quality plastic lumber products. His successful development of these products resulted in the acquisition of RISE Building Products (RISE Composite Technologies) by Saint-Gobain, through its building materials division CertainTeed Siding, on October 1, 2025. Doug has long been a quiet supporter of CARE’s efforts to build the recycling infrastructure needed to create viable market outlets.
CARE CEO and Executive Director Bob Peoples noted, “The recycling of old carpet is a heavy lift. Over the past several years, CARE has grown carpet collection and recycled output while expanding our network. This year’s winners demonstrate the value of cooperation. These accomplishments are the direct result of dedicated recyclers and manufacturers who step up, accept the risks and deliver a better planet for all of us and our children. They are creating a new circular economy, one square yard at a time. Bravo!”
The CARE Conference brought new technologies to the community and facilitated robust dialogue about the challenges surrounding today’s markets, while showcasing recent developments in technology, Extended Producer Responsibility, and new products and markets.
Special Market Update from the Executive Director
CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples observes:
The global plastics-recycling system is not just under stress—it is collapsing.
Forces completely beyond industry’s control have converged to create the most severe market disruption we’ve seen in decades. Every recycling program, across every material, is feeling the shock.
In the U.S., markets have contracted to the point of paralysis. Inventories are overflowing. Even pad markets—normally a critical source of cash flow and historically resilient—have effectively gone dark. Oil prices have plunged below $60 per barrel, pulling virgin polymer and post-industrial fiber prices down with them. PET bale prices have crashed to the low single digits, and even at those levels, sales are difficult to secure.
All four carpet polymer streams have seen steep declines, but nylon 6 and 6,6 are being hit the hardest. Years of aggressive over-expansion in Asia have now resulted in virgin N6 flooding global markets at prices not seen in decades. Post-consumer materials can’t compete with this collapse in virgin pricing, and post-industrial values are falling right alongside it—further choking the movement of post-consumer carpet.
On top of this, the removal of the <$800 tariff de minimis threshold is cutting deeply into U.S. commerce. Four million packages a day now face new costs—half originating from China—delivering a heavy blow to small businesses. Automotive production is down 5% compared to 2024, eliminating one of the largest outlets for compounded nylons. Consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in two years.
Adding to the pressure, major chemical companies are pulling back—terminating or delaying recycling-related projects nationwide. And across Europe, recyclers are shuttering operations at an alarming rate.
Carpet sales in California are down 7% year-to-date versus 2024—and down 50% since 2013. Carpet manufacturers have eliminated thousands of jobs. PET profitability was destroyed by over-capacity years ago, and now nylon is following the same path.
The industry needs a long, painful realignment, and the hard truth is this: nothing about the first half of 2026 offers any relief.
The storm is here, and it is going to take years to rebuild from it.
Recommended C&D Bid and Ordinance Language Released
More carpet can be diverted from landfill if government agencies included carpet recycling language in local ordinances. CARE has published two options for language to ensure that carpet recycling is included in C&D ordinances.
CARE also has published recommended language to include in applicable construction and demolition bids to ensure that carpet is diverted from landfill and recycled.
Breakthrough: CarpeTell Fiber ID Device Unveiled
CARE is proud to announce the release of CarpeTell, a revolutionary device that identifies all contemporary fibers and fiber blends used in carpets to enable fast, easy and accurate sorting for recycling. While primarily designed for post-consumer carpet recyclers, the device also serves post-industrial material recyclers and nylon compounders by identifying various yarns and fabrics.
Upon learning in 2021 that the widely-used carpet fiber identification device, microPHAZIR, was being phased out of production by manufacturer Thermo Fisher, CARE began the search for a suitable and more effective replacement.
After extensive research and development, carpet industry veteran Frank Endrenyi and CARE collaborated with Matoha, a U.K. company that already had experience with Near-Infrared ID Technology in the textile and plastics industries. After thorough evaluation of the benefits of Matoha’s technology, the CARE board allocated significant resources for the ergonomic redesign that would optimize the device for the needs of carpet recyclers. Endrenyi worked with Matoha for two years to refine the technology and design of CarpeTell.
COO of Matoha Darlene Sammut notes, “We’re delighted to have partnered with CARE and Frank Endrenyi to bring our material identification technology to the carpet and flooring industry. The support from CARE enabled us to develop AI algorithms specifically for carpet material identification, and to refine our handheld device design for optimal user experience in recycling environments. We’re excited to continue this collaboration and support the growth of carpet recycling!”
Product Efficiency Soars
The CarpeTell offers significant improvement over the microPHAZIR, providing almost instant identification (less than 0.5 second), greatly improving sorting efficiency of all carpet fiber types/blends being produced by the carpet industry. Additional fibers and fiber blends can be added to the identification library as new fibers or blends are introduced to the marketplace. The CarpeTell unit is compact, ergonomically designed and highly durable. It features a removable, rechargeable battery capable of lasting ten hours or longer, depending on usage volume. With minimal components, the unit maximizes operational uptime. The unit weighs just 12 ounces and has an ergonomic pistol grip to reduce fatigue for associates working in a warehouse several hours per day.
CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples remarked, “This refined device is a vital tool in our efforts to boost carpet recycling in California and across the country, and CARE is proud to have supported its development. With carpet Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation active in California, and coming in the future in New York, this device will become essential for efficient sorting as carpet recycling laws go into effect. The CarpeTell makes the previously time-consuming and labor-intensive job of fiber identification instantaneous, accurate, easier and cost-effective.”
Wes Nelson, Director of Sourcing and Sales for Circular Polymers by Ascend, stated, “Circular Polymers by Ascend received our first Matoha spectroscopy analyzer at our Lincoln, California facility and have been thoroughly impressed with its lightweight ergonomic design, rapid response time and extended battery life with an additional rechargeable Li-ion battery. We’ve recently ordered two additional units and feel that this is our go-to device for the future, for replacing all of the antiquated analyzers within our industry.”
The CarpeTell costs a fraction of the microPhazir, with a small monthly charge for software and library updates. Frank Endrenyi of Marketing Collaborative LLC is the U.S. distributor for CarpeTell and can answer any questions. In addition to resources and instructions on the Matoha website, a user guide video is available (see below).
For more information or to order a CarpeTell, contact Frank Endrenyi at AssetsUnlimited@gmail.com.