Dive Brief:
- The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Triumvirate Environmental, and the town of Warren, ME have been working together to get a gun range ready to unload fibers considered a fire hazard.
- A recycling facility in Pennsylvania will process the 27,000 tons of material, which is similar to carpet fiber.
- The groups joined forces to come to a solution for disposing of the material in a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly manner.
Dive Insight:
Here's how it went down: The carpet in question was stored on the premises but never used. The DEP wanted the fibers removed, but not landfilled. Triumvirate came in, saw the carpeting as a resource, and made a deal to have the carpet recycled and processed at no cost to the state. After receiving the material, the recycling company in Pennsylvania will transform the fibers into commercial building materials.
Fiber recycling, including for carpet, is becoming more prevalent in certain areas across the country. For instance, Shaw Industries, a carpet and flooring manufacturer, announced plans to expand its carpet recycling operations and reclamation program.
Back in June, a report released by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) cited a 52% increase in post-consumer carpet collections in the U.S. from 2012 to 2013. Partners of the non-profit diverted 534 million pounds of carpeting from landfills in 2013.