A RESOURCE efficiency study is currently being conducted by the Carpet Institute of Australia with assistance from Sustainability Victoria.
The study covers all aspects of the carpet industry from manufacturing, installations and end-of-life solutions and has already revealed some interesting preliminary results showing how the industry can become ResourceSmart.
There was approx 56 million m2 of carpet supplied to the Australian market to year end Jun-07, with about 75% being produced in Australia.
This production uses 177,000 tonnes of raw materials including fibre, backing and adhesives and an estimated 80% of uplifted carpet goes to landfill at end-of-life.
Approximately 80% of all Australian made carpet is manufactured in Victoria.
These figures illustrate the environmental challenges and economic opportunities faced by the industry in Victoria.
The study aims to identify ways minimising impacts and maximising profits to help maintain the competitive edge of the industry in the face of imported product.
According to Carpet Institute of Australia Executive Director, Allan Firth, manufacturers have been working on their wastes for many years and have recovered most of their internal fibre wastes for reuse back into the same or different products within their own operations.
Some manufacturers have even found interesting ways of using their wastes as resources in other products such as plastic fence posts and insulation.
Unspun fibre, or soft fibre wastes are relatively easy to reprocess whereas yarns need to be cut and shredded for reuse.
Things get progressively more difficult as the carpet is manufactured with different inputs. A finished carpet has adhesives and backing materials in it as well as the face fibre and these need to be separated if the raw materials are to be reused.
However, cropping and shearing wastes are pure fibre (no adhesive or backing) and are utilized in a number of recycling options external to the carpet manufacturing facility.
Installations also lead to wastes and these can be more difficult to recover and reuse. In an attempt to overcome these difficulties, retailers and installers have been working on making their operations more efficient.
When a broadloom carpet is installed it is ordered from the manufacturer in rolls. The roll lengths are calculated to run the lengths of the rooms to minimize roll end wastes.
Inevitably there are some roll end wastes that end up on site or at the factory. These roll ends are sold at a discount to mat merchants and there is a strong market for these roll ends.
Installation off-cuts that are big enough can be reused for mats, or they can be kept for alterations or carpet repairs. Storage is an issue for the retailers who can end up with large allocations of warehouse space for job ends.
The trim and small off-cuts are at present largely heading for landfill and there is a need to find more ways to reduce these pieces and then to recycle the rest into usable products.
With regard to manufacturing, some figures are available from previous studies and indicate around a 90% raw material yield which is considered efficient.
There is always room for improvement however and it is this proactive approach that has lead the Carpet Institute to develop the project in collaboration with Sustainability Victoria.
To ascertain resource intensity in the manufacturing process to identify potential areas for improvements as well as minimising and recovering wastes from the installation phase.
Data collated over the last number of months is to be the focus of industry technical workshops at the end of November with the intention of identifying potential industry-wide solutions including an improvement plan for waste, energy & water management and an industry audit, monitoring & reporting program.
Understanding the environmental imperative is very important for member businesses going forward, and according to Firth, with the two organisations working together, there will be increased awareness and environmental outcomes for the Australian carpet industry.
End-of-life disposal issues are also a focus of the project and this challenging area will be worked on at length over the coming months.
To facilitate the dialogue on this issue, the Carpet Institute, International Fibre Centre and Sustainability Victoria are delighted to be hosting Dr Bob Peoples of Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) for an expert visit to Australia.
Dr Peoples will share successful solutions developed in the States and the potential applicability to the sustainability journey of the industry here in Australia.
Since it’s inception in 2002, CARE has helped developed market based solutions to end-of-life issues in America, with some impressive outcomes.
Successes include the increase in number of carpet recycling facilities from 5 to 40 and associated diversion of waste from landfill equivalent to 118387 tonnes and 108862 tonnes recycled.
The CARE program is a great example of the achievable successes when industry and government develop solutions collaboratively” says Bob Peoples “and it’s great to see the Carpet Institute and Sustainability Victoria working in partnership to reduce the environmental footprint of the carpet industry here in Australia.”
“This sharing of information is an excellent example of how we can build off the success of others. In fact, we might call it the recycling of great ideas.” People explains.
For more information contact:
Carpet Institute of Australia
Allan Firth
info@carpetoz.com.au
Sustainability Victoria
Julie O’Brien
info@sustainability.vic.gov.au
*This article was co-authored by Julie O’Brien, Project Manager, Sustainable Businesses at Sustainability Victoria and Dr. John Cummings, Director, Infotech Research.