Three great reasons why you should make sure your old carpet gets recycled:
- Cost:
Carpet recycling is not nearly as expensive as you might think. When you take into consideration that material won’t be going to the landfill where dumping charges are increasing all the time, the cost to recycle is often not much more than sending it to the landfill. - Reducing Carbon Footprint:
A number of studies show recycling carpet significantly reduces carbon emissions. Regardless of the process, keeping carpet out of landfill can reduce CO2 Equivalents by 8300 pounds for every ton of carpet diverted. T o see what impact recycling your carpet will have, check out our Carpet Recycling Calculator.
- Lost Potential Energy:
With natural resources becoming increasingly scarce and more difficult to extract, it makes no sense to be simply throwing them away. Carpet has a 30% higher heating value with fewer emissions than coal, and 750 sq. ft. has the same potential energy as a barrel of oil. When carpet goes to already overflowing landfills that potential energy is lost forever, and new non-renewable resources have to be extracted to replace it. To learn more about the negative effects of landfills visit our Overflowing Landfills page.