Partners in Recycling

Carpet Recycling UK

Carpet Recycling UK is a trade association which works to increase the recycling of carpets across the UK.

Each year 500,000 tonnes of carpet waste is buried in UK landfills. Increasingly businesses, householders and local authorities are looking for better alternatives but new technologies and markets for carpet recyclate are needed to ensure that this growing demand for carpet recycling services can be met. Carpets are made from natural and synthetic fibres, which still have a value once the carpet is no longer wanted; they can be used in a wide range of applications from sports surfaces to insulation.

Carpet Recycling UK drives innovation in end-of-life solutions for carpets. Our vision is of a strong and diverse UK carpet recycling industry which recovers all carpet waste using best environmental technologies.

Tarkett Recovinyl

Three years ago Tarkett implemented a scheme to collect post installation waste both from large contracts such as hospitals and schools and from specific flooring contractors. This benefited all parties, as it gave the installers a route to safely dispose of their waste in an environmentally responsible way, as well as supplying Tarkett with a consistent waste stream for use on its large processing plant in Luxembourg.

For large contracts, Tarkett will supply cages to store the off-cuts and although they are not the only company to provide such a collection service, they actually take the collected material back to Tarkett's own Recovinyl accredited PVC recycling plant in Luxembourg where it is reprocessed and re-used to produce a calendered backing for new flooring.

The quantity of post installation waste available is limited and the real prize is to be able to collect and reuse flooring at the end of its life. To this end Tarkett has joined forces with Axion Recycling to trial a collection system for end of life in the UK and to develop a new process to include this post use material into new first quality flooring.

Accu-cut

Accu-cut has recently been working with the industries top software companies to integrate floor covering software with Accu-Cut machines. This creates the ability to electronically send cuts from a PC directly to the Accu-Cut machine. The advantages and benefits of this new technology are overwhelming. Just for example, it can automatically reduce roll waste, update stock, print and scan roll tags, generate stock reports and eliminate the risks of cutting the wrong material and sizes.