Carpet Recycling UK’s recent eighth Annual Conference and Awards Event celebrated the successes and achievements of its resource recovery ‘champions’ at the home of Premier League winners Leicester City Football Club.
The programme showcased the achievements and contributions by members – both individuals and organisations – who have helped to drive forward sustainability in the sector.
Innovative schemes recognised included carpet tile reuse supporting disadvantaged people, recycled fibres turned into horticultural growing mats and collecting waste carpet from retailers for energy recovery. Around 400,000 tonnes of waste carpet arises annually in the UK of which 31% (125,000 tonnes) was diverted from landfill via reuse, recycling and energy recovery in 2015. CRUK’s target is 60% diversion from landfill by 2020.
While energy recovery, the equestrian and automotive/leisure sectors offer opportunities for future growth in the UK, CRUK Director Laurance Bird emphasised that segregating carpet waste for reuse and recycling remains a key challenge, particularly for retailers, with whom they’ve been working to develop new solutions.
Thanking CRUK’s core funders Cormar Carpets, Lifestyle Floors/Headlam, Desso, ege, Milliken, Balsan and Marlings for their on-going support, Laurance said: “In taking a voluntary producer responsibility positioning within the market place, they are recognised as leaders for sustainability within the carpet value chain.”
Looking ahead, CRUK will continue to promote design for easier resource recovery, identify new recycling technologies for carpet materials and to develop further recycling outlets and markets in line with Circular Economy principles.
In his keynote speech, guest host celebrity architect and designer Oliver Heath, who presented the Awards for Good Practice, outlined drivers for sustainable design and how reuse/recycling concepts can be incorporated within aspirational interior design.
Carpet reuse and recycling successes
Carpet Recycling UK’s third annual awards ceremony celebrated the achievements of members who have demonstrated innovation, commitment and best practice in the sector. Three special awards, introduced for the first time this year, reward winners based on their company’s activity as a CRUK member.
Graham Kempton of Designer Contracts Ltd was named Recycling Champion for his commitment to making carpet recycling work by reorganising delivery routes and increasing the capacity to collect more waste. Tony Winder of Winder Carpets Ltd and Neil Green of Made by U Ltd were Highly Commended.
Designer Contracts Ltd also won the Take Back Partner of the Year award for the second year running for working ‘tirelessly to make recycling happen’ and working closely with their recycling partners. Linney Cooper and Branagan Flooring Services were Highly Commended.
Carpet Tile Recycling was named Reuse Member of the Year for recognising the need to accept all carpet tiles for reuse and its development of new innovative outlets for those tiles that cannot be reused. Midland Carpet Tile Recycling and M25 Made by U Ltd were Highly Commended.
Recycler of the Year went to Desso UK (a Tarkett Company) for its innovative approach to moving
carpets up the waste hierarchy and design of a product that can be more easily recycled in the future. Xtraction Ltd and Waste to Energy b.v. were Highly Commended.
Special awards recognise recycling excellence
Doncaster-based reuse and recycling social enterprise Made By U Ltd won the Best Newcomer award, having made a significant impact since recently joining CRUK. As well as benefiting the community through carpet tile reuse, they are diverting large volumes of carpet waste in Yorkshire from landfill into the highest possible value outlets.
The 2016 Outstanding Achievement award went to Anglo Recycling Technology Ltd for their innovative efforts to achieve high quality carpet fibres for reuse in textiles, including a closed-loop system that reprocesses retailers’ carpet off-cuts back into underlay.
A core funder since 2009, Cormar Carpets’ strong commitment to carpet recycling and sustainability, both within their own and customers’ businesses, was recognised with the Longstanding Support award.
As the industry-backed association for recycling and reusing waste carpet, Carpet Recycling UK welcomes enquiries from all types of organisations interested in finding new outlets for their waste carpet with potential savings on disposal costs. It can be contacted on 0161 440 8325 or visit www.carpetrecyclinguk.com.
