Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) has announced a historic milestone in California’s carpet recycling achievements, as outlined in the 2023 California Carpet Stewardship Program’s Annual Report submitted to CalRecycle. The state achieved a 35% carpet recycling rate for 2023, reaching 41% in the first quarter of 2024 and matching California’s statewide recycling rate across all materials. This achievement represents an 83% increase over 2019’s rate, despite facing economic and operational challenges.
Key Highlights of 2023 California Carpet Recycling Program:
- 71% Recycling Efficiency Rate – Reflects the transformation of collected carpet into usable recycled products.
- Landfill Diversion – Over 66 million pounds of carpet and 12.5 million pounds of padding were kept out of landfills.
- Carpet Reuse – 2.4 million pounds of carpet were repurposed, enough to cover 68 football fields. CARE facilitates reuse by helping schools, universities, churches, and other organizations find suitable repurposing options for carpet in good condition.
- Recycled Material in New Products – A total of 110 products, created by 28 vendors, now include post-consumer recycled carpet material. The 66 million pounds of recycled carpet were incorporated into automotive and construction industry products.
- Extensive Access Points for Recycling – California hosts 137 public drop-off sites, with coverage across all 58 counties, three regional distribution centers, and over 200 private collection sites.
Robert Peoples, CARE’s Executive Director, credited these record-breaking results to the hard work of the recycler community and CARE’s California team. “Despite recent skepticism about recycling, California’s Carpet Stewardship Program demonstrates remarkable growth and resilience,” he said. “This program is truly a California success story.”
Carpet recycling begins when carpet is prepared and taken to a qualified drop-off site. CARE’s mission includes supporting carpet collection and processing to prevent materials from ending up in landfills. The organization encourages homeowners, contractors, retailers, and collectors to participate and supports the development of recycled carpet materials, now used in products like automotive parts, home trim, insulation, and even bullet-resistant applications.
