Collaboration was the key theme of this year’s Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) annual conference held in Solihull, UK, from July 10-11.

It was emphasised at the event that parterships with resilient flooring and other industries including construction, waste management and recycling sectors are vital to finding better environmental and economic solutions for carpet and textile flooring waste.

According to Adnan Zeb-Khan, the CRUK scheme manager, energy from waste – which accounted for over 200,000 tons of carpet and textile flooring diverted from landfill in 2022 in the UK – although an important outlet, is not a sustainable long-term route, and more reuse and recycling solutions need to be developed.

Delegates heard about potential research projects to divert carpet and textile flooring waste and how these could be used in construction products and the cement industry. CRUK will be exploring these further with universities and industry.

Collaborative work is already underway and Birmingham-headquartered flooring distributor Headlam presented findings on its pilot take-back scheme which is providing valuable insight into behaviours around recycling flooring materials.

Innovate Recycling, which has recently opened the UK’s first dedicated carpet recycling centre in Northampton, presented details of its work in recycling polypropylene from waste carpet into new polypropylene beads.

Matoha also introduced its evolving infrared material identification gun which is using AI to enable it to identify thousands of different carpet chemistries and IOBAC presented a unique magnetic carpet floor tiles fixing solution which is saving thousands of pounds on damage to subfloors during building interior renovations.

EPR

There is an urgent need for all stakeholders to come together to collaborate and develop an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme that is suitable for the sector, it was stressed.

The conference heard from several speakers on existing or similar schemes operating in Europe and the USA. Jane Gardner of ERFMI (the European Resilient Floorcovering Manufacturers’ Institute) reinforced the need to develop a circular economy for flooring products.

“Now is the time to act – politically, legislatively and technologically,” she said. “Sustainability is becoming mandatory in the European Union and our strategy recognises the need for waste management companies, recyclers and raw material suppliers to collaborate to ensure a workable solution for all stakeholders.”

The Carpet Recycling UK annual awards were also presented, with Edel Carpets receiving the Circular Economy Initiative of the Year Award, and Betap highly commended. The Salvation Army Trading Company received the Reuse and Recycling Project of the Year Award with John Cotton Group highly commended, while Milliken received the Most Sustainable Product of the Year Award.

ALLOA (ALL Over Again) carpet by Dutch manufacturer  Edel is designed to be directly recycled without separation of the raw materials.

“After a stimulating event packed with discussion, debate and insightful presentations, it’s clear there is a strong need for engagement and collaboration in helping the sector on its sustainability journey, while developing opportunities to create circularity within the sector through a more design for recycling-led approach,” Zeb-Khan concluded.

www.carpetrecyclinguk.com