I first became aware that there was a carpet recycling movement in the United Kingdom this spring, when I attended the annual meeting of the Carpet America Recovery Effort, or CARE (for more about CARE’s annual meeting, see my earlier blog post). Carpet Recycling UK was represented at the meeting by its development manager, a lovely young Englishwoman named Kate Chappell.Kate is one of the founders of Carpet Recycling UK, which, according to the group’s website, was established to, “address the barriers to recycling carpets…[to] ensure that carpet recycling services will be offered across the UK as quickly as possible." Like CARE, Carpet Recycling UK aims to expand the collection network for carpet recycling, find new uses for recycled carpet, and stimulate end-markets for products that are made from recycled carpet.
Kate agreed to be interviewed for the CRI blog about how she came to be involved with carpet recycling and also about her impressions of her first-ever trip to the U.S.:
CRI: What is your background and how did you get to Carpet Recycling UK? I remember you said you had run a couple of your own recycling businesses - what were those about?
KC: I came in to carpet recycling straight after completing my undergraduate studies in Economics and then a postgrad in Sustainable Development. (BMR note: Kate does not mention it, but I happen to know she did her undergrad studies at Oxford University and her post-graduate work at Middlesex University in London. I guess she didn’t want to blow her own horn too much – how very British of her.)
As part of the postgrad course, I visited a carpet tile reuse charity which was providing supported employment for people with learning difficulties. I was inspired by the great work at this project, and keen to replicate the model and adapt it away from grant-reliance to a more sustainable commercial footing.
When I graduated, I fundraised to set up a company called Spruce Carpets which refurbished residential carpet and provided employment and training opportunities for ex-offenders and homeless.
I took Spruce through the start-up phase and grew it until it had 8 employees. Although I found it challenging to work in an environment where most of your staff wouldn’t be in the normal labour market, it was definitely worth it – Spruce Carpets captured people’s imaginations.
I then set up Greenback Recycling which was a much bigger recycling operation which collected and sorted local authority carpet waste, and sold this to an existing recycling business.
Developing better end markets for carpet recyclates by setting up an industry-wide body seemed like the next logical step…
(BMR note: something else Kate is too modest to say is that she was recently recognized as one of the UK’s ‘Future 100 Young Entrepreneurs’ as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008. Her business, Spruce Carpets was also recently voted ‘Social Enterprise of the Year’ by Scottish Business in the Community.)
CRI: How do the UK and U.S. markets differ? What challenges do you face in the U.K. we don't have over here?
KC: The carpet markets in the UK and US differ mainly in the fibre-types used. In the US, nylon 6 and 6,6 predominate, but in the UK we have many fibre blends and a higher proportion of wool-rich carpet.
As a result, there is little value to the UK-based carpet mills in reclaiming the material and recovering the fibre at end-of-life.
We also have a unique challenge in the contract market, where the majority of carpet tile is bitumen-backed and therefore very difficult to size-reduce.
On the plus side though, we have strong environmental legislation in the form of a landfill tax of £48/tonne ($78/ metric tonne) which drives demand from mills, retailers and local authorities for recycling options.
CRI: What do you see happening at CARE you would like to make happen in the U.K.?
KC: I came back from the CARE Conference with a head full of ideas about what could be transferred from the U.S. to the UK.
At CARE itself, there were a number of simple services we could replicate to bring greater value to our members; one example is monthly conference calls between our collectors.
On a more strategic level, I took home a clear message about the importance of reaching out to the polymer industry, and the need for ‘pull-through’ of products containing post-consumer carpet content.
I was privileged to sit in on a Board meeting at CARE, and found it particularly helpful in informing how Carpet Recycling UK changes it governance structure.
Lastly, it was clear that CARE had done a great job at building a community of interest and expertise around carpet recycling – this is certainly something we would like to make happen in the UK.
CRI: Tell me about England’s use of recycled carpet in equestrian rings and racetracks. Could we do the same thing over here?
KC: Synthetic post-consumer carpets are shredded and dust extracted to produce a fibre additive for all-weather surfaces. The base surface is sand, into which carpet and other fibres like lycra are blended to produce the desired performance characteristics, and then the surface is coated in wax. The fibres in the sand act like roots to reduce kick-back and slippage – making the ride safer.
I understand that the US racing industry has been moving towards all-weather surfaces for some time, so it may be worth exploring as a recycling route for difficult fibre types.
CRI: What did you see on your tour of the DC/Virginia area, and what did you think about what you saw?
KC: My husband and I took the opportunity after the CARE Conference to take a week’s holiday. We loved seeing the Star Spangled Banner in the museum of American History in DC, and also took a tour of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond along with a class of local schoolchildren who taught us more about the Founding Fathers. Then we headed to Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway which was breath-taking.
CRI: Was this your first long-term exposure to Americans? How'd we do?
KC: I didn’t want to go home!
Everyone I met was so welcoming, knowledgeable and kind. At first I assumed that carpet recycling must just attract particularly great people, but from my short tour after the conference I realized that everyone I’d met had been equally warm and hospitable.
CRI: What's in the immediate future for carpet recycling in Great Britain?
KC: Our main focus right now is the first Carpet Recycling UK conference on 23rd June (BMR note: for more on this meeting see CRI’s blogpost from Wednesday, August 5). It will be the first time that so many people with an interest in carpet recycling have come together in the UK – and is shaping up to be a full and fascinating day. We are honoured to have Frank Hurd from CRI speaking on the experience of carpet recycling in the U.S., as well as presentations from Frank Levy at PCC and Ron Simonetti at Modular Carpet Recycling.
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I loved meeting Kate, and I am so glad she enjoyed her time in the United States. With this kind of young talent involved, I feel very hopeful about the future of carpet recycling, don’t you?
Thanks, Kate, and come back soon!
~ Bethany
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