Your old Carpet is Recycled and Reused
It has been for 5+ years
We are committed to
environmentally responsible business practices
. We believe that the way that we live today impacts the world for generations to come. Old carpet does not have to end up in an overflowing landfill. Here is how we work with our partner at Shaw Floors.
The carpet we tear out gets picked up from Carpets Plus Wisconsin it goes back to the Shaw recycling center where it is sorted by fiber type. They use an Infrared Spectrometer Gun to determine fiber type (very cool - looks like large flashlight).
Each piece of dirty old carpet is sorted and bundled to be sent off to various end uses:
All type 6 Nylon is sent back to Shaw to be made into new carpet (no loss in carpet performance when recycled).
Type 6.6 Nylon, Polyester, and Olefin are generally sent off to be made into items like auto parts and park benches. If they are not sent off for this purpose they can be burned off and converted into clean energy (Shaw has a plant run completely on carpet).
Wools are sent to a landfill as they are completely biodegradable.
Yes, there are a set of circumstances that prevent a very small amount of material from being recycled, but it is a minor quantity and we are working to make that percentage even smaller.
Manufacturers like Mohawk and Shaw are using recycled materials like P.E.T. plastics in their carpet yarns. Not only is the use of plastic beverage bottles good for our environment, but they are finding the yarns superior to those using lower grades of synthetic fibers.
