Interface closes the loop in carpet tile recycling
1 min read
InterfaceFLOR, the environmental-award winning designer and manufacturer of carpet tiles, claims to have achieved a technical breakthrough in the European carpet industry, with the introduction of ReEntry 2.0, a 'green' innovation that is the evolution of a process pioneered by Interface in the United States four years ago. It enables significant and scalable like-for-like recycling of carpet tiles, representing an important step closer to closed-loop manufacturing in Europe.
ReEntry 2.0 uses a technology that separates yarn and backing from used carpet tiles, so that they can be recycled into yarn and backing for new carpet tiles. The process ensures that each component of the carpet tile retains its material value, allowing it to be re-used as new raw material for new products. This is especially important for recycling nylon yarn – the most carbon intensive part of carpet.
The technology can process the most widely used carpet tiles in the European market today and is set to divert around 2,700 tonnes of oil-intensive material annually from disposal, equivalent to more than 600,000 m2 of carpet tiles. Life cycle assessment (LCA) shows that materials recycled through ReEntry 2.0 require four times less energy to process than equivalent virgin materials for carpets. This decreases to twenty times less energy for backing, when you take into account the use of 100% renewable electricity at InterfaceFLOR's facility in Scherpenzeel, The Netherlands, where the process is based.
It is the latest in a line of waste recycling initiatives from InterfaceFLOR, which reflect the company's commitment to closing the loop in the manufacturing process. The company has offered a product take-back scheme since 1995, which helps customers to reduce their own impact on the environment. Since it began, the scheme has diverted more than 91,000 tonnes of carpet from disposal.
Interface's Ton van Keken said, "For many years the carpet industry has struggled to develop recycling methods that are economically and technically viable. In Europe alone, it is estimated that nearly 30 million m2 of carpet tiles could be sent to landfill or incinerated in 2011. This is a waste of valuable resources and has an unacceptable impact on the environment. With capacity diminishing rapidly and landfill tax rising annually, it is clear that this option is both environmentally and financially unsustainable.
Re-Entry 2.0 is a significant step forward for InterfaceFLOR in Europe - and for our industry. It moves like-for-like recycling to the next level, bringing us closer to our ambition to close the loop in manufacturing."
