We're waging a War on Waste. The waste that we and other flooring manufacturers produce.
The truth is that waste happens when you manufacture, when you install, and when you replace products.
And there are 2 regulatory issues in particular which we think need tackling.
Firstly, it costs less to send waste to landfill in many countries than it does to recycle it.
The price of throwing away carpet varies greatly among EU countries Germany €130/tn (Incineration), UK €44/tn (Landfill), Southern Europe €3-15/tn (Landfill).
And secondly, a lack of extended producer responsibility in the construction sector means that flooring manufacturers have no duty to dispose of old products sustainably.
The automotive and electronics industries are examples of sectors where EU legislation has been made to control producer responsibility.
But because there are no clear EU laws, flooring waste continues to end up in landfill.
So you see, the problems are clear.
Throwing waste away is seen as the cheap and easy solution in many countries and no rules exist to make manufacturers responsible for their end of life products. Both these points make the idea of recycling flooring waste unattractive.
However, this has not stopped us.
Mission Zero is our commitment to completely eliminating our environmental impact by 2020—and this includes producing zero waste.
And here's how we've tackled our mission so far.
We've seen a 80% reduction in manufacturing waste to landfill since 1996, helping us save $433 million in waste costs per unit of production.
We've invented the concept of random design that allows non-directional installation. This reduces waste to 1–2% compared to 3–4% in non-random carpet tiles and around 12–15% in broadloom carpet.
Since 1995 we've had a take back programme—called ReEntry2.0—to re-use and recycle old carpet tiles. To date we've diverted 91,000 tonnes of material from landfill 15,000 tn (approx).
Our Cool Green process transforms carpet waste and old tiles into the backing of new tiles at our UK factory in Shelf.
And as part of ReEntry2.0 we've set up a new process where yarn and backing are seperated and recycled at our US factory in LaGrange.
Ultimately we want a future where it is illegal to send waste to landfill.
And where all flooring producers operate a closed loop manufacturing process as standard, similar to our ReEntry2.0.
But we won't achieve this without the right legislatory framework.
This opportunity, like the world we live in, is too good to waste. And with your support we can take this battle to Brussels and push for real change. So sign up and help us spread the word.
