Recycling Your Old Carpet Pad

Are you replacing your old carpet with Hardwood Flooring or Stone Flooring? Are you going to install a new carpet pad, or keep the old one? Its important to think about the environment, and we should all try to reduce, reuse and recycle products as much as possible. If you are removing your old carpet pad, recycling it is a wise and environmentally friendly step.

Why Recycle Carpet Pads?

• Recycling your old carpet pad may seem dirty and unappealing, but there are advantages of carpet pad recycling that make it an attractive option.
• Some types of carpet pads like Foam carpet pads can be safely recycled to produce new carpet pads that perform as well as virgin carpet pads. Other carpet pad materials absorb dirt, grime, and allergens, and cannot be used to make new carpet pads, but instead are recycled into other materials.
• Many different products are produced from recycled carpet pads. These include the so-called plastic lumber, geo-textiles, tack strips for carpets, fiber board, some types of auto parts, and even carpets.
• Jute carpet pads and those made from horse hair cannot be recycled easily. All other pads can be recycled.
• Carpet pad recycling saves on landfill space. It is estimated that carpet pads take up 2% of landfill space. THAT’S A LOT! Annually 125 million tons of carpet pad are thrown in United States land fills alone. It is not difficult to imagine the amount of land fill space that could be saved if you recycle your carpet pad into other useful products.
• Carpet pads are meant to last for years and break down at very slow rates. Once thrown into a landfill they take many years to break down.
• Recycled carpet pads are available in the market. Ask for them! These are alternatives that you can explore to reduce your ecological footprint.

How to Recycle your Carpet Pads?

The first step in recycling is to find a local recycling service. You can either find one or just ask us! You will have to take your old carpet pad to the recycling center. You might even make some money, especially if you have re-bond carpet pad. Alternately you can ask your carpet retailer about their carpet pad recycling policy. Many stores arrange for the recycling of carpet pads and ensure that the environmental impact of carpet pad replacement is minimized. Some companies specialize in collecting old carpet pads from landfills, but it is better if the pads can be sent directly to the recycling facility from the start. Carpet America Recovery Effort is an industry government body geared towards promoting the recycling of carpets and carpet pads.

Foam carpet pads can be recycled 8 to 10 times. Given that a carpet pad lasts up to 8 years, the estimated life of a foam carpet pad may be extended close to a 100 years! Besides carpet pads, automobile foam and foam from furniture is also recovered and used to produce the multicolored re-bond carpet pad. Many people now opt for eco-friendly or sustainable flooring. The decision to install Green Flooring can become even greener if you decide to use a recycled carpet pad. If you still have doubts about the importance of carpet pad recycling, then consider this: it is estimated that recycling carpet pads can save up to 700,000 barrels of oil every year!

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