CARPET WASTE, AN EXPENSIVE LUXURY WE MUST DO WITHOUT!

Abstract

In the U.K. the carpet industry accounts for £935 million of income each year. About 7% or £65 million of would-be extra earning is annually lost in the form of waste produced during manufacturing processes and fittings. In a recent confidential study made under the Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme landfill was identified as the main destination for most carpet waste with incineration a close second. Cost of disposal to landfill is currently estimated at about £750,000 a year. However, with increasing public concern for the environment, this figure is already rising due to introduction of large tax duties on the use of landfill. Manufacturers are consequently under pressure to reduce waste and find alternative means of utilising their waste. This paper, in the first instance, investigates the sources of waste along the entire carpet manufacturing route and assesses their quantitative measurement. It then critically reviews the current methods of dealing with processed and post consumer wastes, exploring the various methodologies applied. In conclusion the paper recommends short and long term solutions with respect to current legislative and environmental issues and calls for novel and prime quality products utilising carpet wastes as valuable raw materials rather than cheap secondary implants.