The Greening of San Francisco Finally Rolls Out to Carpets and Rugs: New Company, SF Carpet Recycling, Expects to Dramatically Improve San Francisco's Waste Diversion Numbers
Less than 5 percent of the 5.4 billion pounds of post-consumer carpet that is discarded annually in the US is recycled. Cities dedicated to becoming more ecologically friendly, like San Francisco, have carpet recycling high on their target list of desired recyclables. SF Carpet Recycling launched today to provide the San Francisco Bay Area with post-consumer carpet and carpet pad recycling facilities at a cost that is below current carpet dumping fees.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 —- Less than 5 percent of the 5.4 billion pounds of post-consumer carpet that is discarded annually in the US is recycled. Cities dedicated to becoming more ecologically friendly, like San Francisco, have carpet recycling high on their target list of desired recyclables. "There is still a lot that can be done to help make the carpet industry a more sustainable business," explains Ellen Raynor, founder of the first Bay Area carpet recycling facility, SF Carpet Recycling (SFCR). As an owner of a retail carpet store in the Lake Tahoe area, Raynor recognized that she could bridge a missing link in the local carpet industry ecosystem and was determined to address it.
Raynor founded SFCR to provide the San Francisco Bay Area with post-consumer carpet and carpet pad recycling facilities at a cost that is below current carpet dumping fees. The Bay Area desperately needs this type of service and SFCR alone will impact San Francisco's environmental goals.
San Francisco has a goal of 75 percent waste diversion by 2010. "We are currently at 69 percent waste diversion," said Jared Blumenfeld, director of San Francisco Department of the Environment. "Carpet recycling will play a key role in helping us meet our objective."
The carpet industry agrees. In 2002, members of the carpet industry, representatives of government agencies and nonprofit organizations formed the Carpet America Recovery Effort. "SF Carpet Recycling is a part of a collection and sortation network that is a key logistical piece to the sustainability puzzle," says Bob Peoples, executive director of CARE. "The carpet industry has worked hard to design their products to be recyclable. In fact, greater than 380 million dollars has been invested by the carpet industry over the past ten years to address this challenge. As a result, for every 10 million pounds of carpet that is recycled, 70 million pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided. The key to success will be to create demand for product that contains post-consumer carpet content, thus building a stronger market for the materials that Raynor collects."
To ensure that it is reaching as many consumers as possible, SFCR has also launched a partnership with Shaw Industries, the largest carpet producer in the world. This partnership helps Shaw close the loop on its cradle-to-cradle Anso products. According to John Bradshaw, Shaw's environmental marketing manager, "Shaw's Evergreen Nylon Recycling facility employs patented technology that recycles post consumer nylon carpet back to its original material -– the building block for nylon fiber. As a result of this technology, carpets of Nylon 6 are capable of being recycled into new carpet repeatedly. Facilities like SFCR are integral to the overall effort of keeping carpet out of the world's overflowing landfills." With these types of partnerships, SFCR is excited to be serving the carpet industry of the San Francisco Bay Area and helping consumers make their carpets "green".
About SF Carpet Recycling
SF Carpet Recycling serves the San Francisco Bay Area by accepting post-consumer carpet and carpet pad for recycling at a cost that is below current dumping fees. For more information go to www.sfcarpetrecycling.com.
For more information:
Ellen Raynor, (415) 671 2921, Ellen@SFCarpetRecycling.com
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