Interface is finalizing a strategic partnership with The Carpet Recyclers, a La Mirada, CA-based business that, since its establishment two years ago, has diverted more than 150 million pounds of used carpet from West Coast landfills, saved over 15 million gallons of oil and created more than 100 green jobs. In sealing the relationship, Interface is following through on an aggressive expansion of its own carpet recycling system, ReEntry, to encompass carpet recycling specialists in regional hubs throughout North America.
A growing appetite in North America for carpet tile, and the practical flooring solution it offers, has multiplied an exponential need for the recycled fiber that ReEntry yields. The scarcity of post consumer nylon also is limiting the company’s key yarn suppliers, and these are among the reasons Interface launched a ReEntry expansion initiative last year. This drive is to help identify existing recyclers—like The Carpet Recyclers—that the manufacturer can fully partner with; or, taking a slightly different tack, find startups or others in waste management who are receptive to Interface’s experienced mentoring and the incorporation of a ReEntry-type system. In fact, the expansion initiative began with the latter approach, as Interface teamed with Aspera Recycling Inc. in Toronto. According to Wells, Interface is guiding Aspera on the technology to procure for its operations and the processing of carpet tile on the scale of ReEntry. A fall start date is anticipated.
