The world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet tiles has switched its entire Australian production to a new manufacturing process in a bid to cut the amount of old carpet going to landfill.
InterfaceFLOR’s Australian GM Clinton Squires said the company is investing $31m to upgrade its plant at Picton, NSW, to accommodate the change.
The company has moved to 100% recyclable backing, known as GlasBac, on all of its carpet tiles as part of the company’s Mission Zero — a pledge to eliminate any negative impact the company may have on the environment by 2020.
“We have now ceased production of bitumen-based Graphlar backings, which have been used for 30 years, due to the fact that components of the bitumen product are difficult to recycle,” Squires said.
“At the end of their life we will now be able to recycle 100% of our carpet tiles into new carpet through our Re-Entry Program. In time, InterfaceFLOR won’t have to mine for any more raw materials.”
The company also offers GlasBacRE carpet tiles, where the backing is not only 100% recyclable, but the carpet tile itself has been made from recycled carpet.
Squires said all of the company’s products became climate neutral in 2007. All greenhouse gas emissions calculated over the entire life cycle of the company’s carpets have been eliminated or offset.
“In 2008 we are now closing the loop; viewing our product in a total life cycle perspective.”
Squires said 75% of the impact of manufacturing new modular tiles came from the production and supply of raw materials.
Recycling carpet tiles, and feeding the materials back into the production loop, will reduce the company’s greenhouse gas impact on the environment by 30%.
“Recycling makes good business sense for carpet users, given levies to dump old carpet at landfills in metropolitan NSW increased by 34% in the last 12 months and by 2011 the increase will be 153% from 2005/06 levels.”
Squires said the company this month sent 25t of carpet to the US for recycling after Perth-based company Lycopodium Engineering engaged InterfaceFLOR to come up with a sustainable solution to replacing its 20-year-old carpet.
“Through our Re-Entry Program we were able to take a competitor’s product out of the Lycopodium Engineering offices and ship it to our US plant to be recycled into new carpet tiles.
“It meant the product didn’t have to go to landfill and provided a truly sustainable solution for the company’s needs and the environment.”