Market Development

The ongoing challenge in California is to continue to develop viable markets for postconsumer carpet. Since the passage of AB 2398, the amount of carpet diverted from landfill disposal and sent to beneficial end uses has increased in California. An infrastructure to capture, process, and develop new products from these recovered materials is essential to diverting more postconsumer carpets from landfills.

In order to make these markets sustainable, there needs to be a reliable flow of materials to producers who make new products, sufficient capacity at each link in the process, diverse product lines to accommodate the ups and downs of sales, and new technologies that improve production. In other words, each link in the product chain needs to operate well.

Building strong sustainable markets in California can also increase the intrinsic value of postconsumer carpet as a raw material and further increase demand for these materials.

The following websites provide resources and ideas for development of markets for postconsumer carpet:

• Facilities that collect and/or perform primary processing
• Secondary Processors (e.g., pelletizing and compounding)
  • Aquafil: Recovers and pelletizes nylon 6 carpet fibers, which is recycled into new nylon 6 carpet and textile fibers.Teknor Apex: Manufactures nylon compounds.
• Manufacturers of new products made from Carpet
  • Products Made from Carpet: Different products manufactured from recycled carpets and their manufacturers compiled by CARE.
  • Car Parts Made from Carpet: This website shows car parts manufactured from recycled carpet fiber.
  • Reliance Carpet Cushion: One of the largest carpet cushion manufacturers in the world is located in the Los Angeles area.
• Product Research and Testing
  • Polymer testing: The Polymers Center of Excellence is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the plastics industry through training, product development, material testing, small-batch compounding, and short-run molding.
  • Carpet Recycling Research, Dr. Raman Singh, OSU: Dr. Singh explains how a piece of carpet can be recycled to make a plastic laminate that can be used to make interstate sound barrier walls, residential and commercial roofs, as well as other, potentially large-volume applications.
• Financing
  • Market Development Resources: This CalRecycle webpage provides information related to developing recycling markets and businesses.
  • Products Made from Carpet: Different products manufactured from recycled carpets and their manufacturers compiled by CARE.
  • CalRecycle Recycling Market Development Zones: The Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) program combines recycling with economic development to fuel new businesses, expand existing ones, while creating jobs and diverting waste from landfills.
  • CARE–Information for Applicants for AB 2398 Grant Funds: If you process postconsumer carpet diverted from landfills in the state of California, or are a secondary manufacturer who uses postconsumer carpet from California, you may be eligible to apply for funds from AB 2398. 
  • Grants: Visit CARE’s website to learn about their California Program capital improvement/expansion, product testing, and micro collection and reuse grant opportunities.