The way to Eliminate Old Carpeting

According to the nonprofit Carpet America Recovery Effort that promotes post-consumer carpet recycling, about 5 billion pounds of used carpet ends up in landfills every year. That is not where it belongs. Carpets are made from a lot of substances, like polypropylene and polyvinyl chlorine, that shouldn’t be leaching into groundwater for the next 25 decades. However, these very same substances and others utilized in the manufacture of carpet makes it a fantastic candidate for recycling. For carpet that is acceptable for recycling, the condition of California’s CalRecycle program site provides helpful guidelines.

Donate carpet in great condition to your nonprofit organization that accepts utilized home-building materials to construct affordable housing.

Verify that old carpet to be recycled is free of tack strips, carpet nails, alloy carpet edging and some metallic objects which may damage recycling equipment. Make sure the rug doesn’t have a rubberized backing, making it unsuitable for recycling.

Inspect the rug for contamination using dried paint or building materials like drywall joint compound, nor recycle any rug that is contaminated. Other contaminants which make carpet unsuitable for recycling contain body fluids, asbestos and pharmaceuticals.

Dry out moist or moist carpet before recycling. Moisture in carpets produces inaccurate results during the weighing procedure, and impedes devices utilized to analyze the fiber content for recycling.

Cut the rug into 6-foot-wide segments with a utility knife. Roll the carpet segments up using the fiber side out, and secure each with a thin strip of scrap rug.

Consult the condition of California’s CalRecycle site for links to the nearest carpet recycling facility. Transport the rug to the recycling facility, protected from snow or rain so it arrives in dry state.

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