Just read that carpet waste in landfills is a huge problem and it got me thinking

I was looking at some industry news yesterday and saw a stat that over 4 billion pounds of old carpet gets dumped every year in the US. That's a crazy number. It made me realize we're all part of that chain when we tear out the old stuff for a new job. What do you guys do with the old carpet you pull up? I know some places have recycling, but it's not easy to find.

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_johnson2mo ago

Man, that stat is wild. We ran into this on a big office remodel last year. The client really pushed for recycling, so we tracked down a facility a couple counties over that takes old carpet. It was a pain to haul it that far, but they actually separated the backing and fibers. Felt way better than just dumping it all.

sandralee2mo ago

Yeah, hauling it that far is a real commitment. We had a client who insisted on it for a kitchen remodel last fall, old vinyl flooring instead of carpet. Took three phone calls just to find a place that would take the material, and then it was a two-hour drive each way. But seeing the load get sorted and knowing it wasn't just ground up for landfill cover made the trip worth it. Sometimes you just have to put in the extra legwork.

keithwalker2mo ago

That's awesome you found a place, @hayden_johnson. The tricky part is a lot of those "recycling" spots just downcycle it into things like carpet padding or plastic lumber. They don't actually break it back down into new carpet fiber, which is the real goal. True closed-loop recycling for carpet is still pretty rare.