Company turns carpet into parking stops

Americans dispose of more than 4 billion pounds of carpet waste each year, but one floorcovering manufacturer is trying to make something out of all that scrap.

Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings of Dalton, Ga., has begun its “Infinity Initiative” program to recycle commercial, vinyl-backed carpet and other floorcoverings. In the planning stages for two years, the program has recycled hundreds of thousands of pounds of used carpet and tile in the past few months, with a capacity of 75 million pounds per year.

The company uses the recycled materials to make car parking stops, some of which are already in place at a U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, Va.

It has contracted with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the North Carolina and Florida departments of transportation and school districts in jefferson County, Colo. and Kent County, Wash., to participate in the program.

“It’s being so well-received by virtually everybody we talk to, it can’t help but catch on,” says Mac Bridger, president and CEO of Collins & Aikman. “The product we make has a much longer life cycle than concrete parking stops.”

The recycling process involves mixing chopped and granulated carpet waste with a low-density post-consumer plastic, then feeding the mixture into an extruder machine.

The extruder melts the materials down, then injects the molten substance into a product mold surrounded by chilled water, allowing it to cool and cure.

The company is producing 6-foot-long parking stops and industrial flooring from the recycled carpet. Bridger says he expects the demand for these two products to keep the plant busy until at least the end of this year, and the company is also researching the manufacture of other products, including highway sound barriers and marine bulkheads.

The recyclable composite material is resistant to water damage and can withstand severe stress. “Everything has to start somewhere,” says Phil Bailey, director of market development for the National Recycling Coalition. “At one point in time it wasn’t too easy to recycle aluminum cans. It’s not unreasonable to look into the future and see regional facilities that accept [carpet] and recycle it.”

The Infinity Initiative, according to Collins & Aikman, is the first program developed by a floorcoverings manufacturer to reclaim carpet waste and turn it into marketable products. Other companies are looking into recycling, according to Bridger, but none has yet implemented a program.

“The carpet industry is very active in research and development of recycling programs, and Collins & Aikman is to be commended for getting to the marketplace first,” Bailey says.

In 1992, the company won the Georgia Land Quality Environmental Citizen of the Year award for its 47 percent reduction in landfill waste. This year, it was the only floorcovering manufacturer chosen as a participant and host committee member to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, held in Chattanooga, Tenn.