The California Carpet Stewardship Program has achieved an unheard-of carpet recycling rate of 35.1 percent for 2023. For the second year running, this far exceeds the goal (31 percent) set in the Program’s Five-Year Plan; the California carpet recycling rate is up 84 percent in five years and has more than tripled since 2015. This recycling rate for carpet has not been achieved anywhere else in the world. Since the program started, CARE recyclers have collected more than 650,000 tons (more than a billion pounds) of old carpet.
The Program’s success is boosting California’s economy: 79% of all recycled pounds were generated in the state and support more than 120 jobs in California. CARE has worked to position old carpet as an important feedstock for the burgeoning chemical recycling industry, which creates materials made from recycled carpet that are indistinguishable from the same products made from oil. The demand for these materials is expected to grow significantly as new plants come online.
CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples notes, “The California Carpet Stewardship Program’s successes have come in the face of significant headwinds challenging the industry: carpet sales (a factor in determining the recycling rate and the funding to run the program) have been declining for years. Additionally, the industry is impacted by depressed resin market prices, a drop in carpet cushion demand and prices, and insufficient supply of post-consumer carpet to support recycler operations and thus profitability. This is a complex situation, and the Program’s stakeholders are striving to maintain resilience in the face of these changes. These factors are adversely impacting all recycling programs. Despite the challenges, the Program is working well and steadily growing.”