As the commercial interiors industry strives towards a more circular approach to material specification, carpet tile recycling has a crucial role to play. Where manufacturers offer carpet take-back programmes, the industry has made great strides in landfill avoidance by using them in waste to energy processing or recycling into cement and other downstream products. Closed loop recycling is emerging in the industry but remains logistically challenging to transport back to specialist recycling centres.
The highest form of circularity however, carpet tile recycling must drive towards carpet tile re-use. For this approach to be successful, new carpet tile products must be engineered from the outset with design for disassembly and potential reuse in mind.
The goal for glue-free carpet tiles when aiming to re-use them is that they adhere effectively when installed and can be uplifted as quickly, easily and as cleanly as possible. For maximum re-usable carpet yield this needs to be achieved without damaging the tile or the sub-floor surface.
Experience shows that carpet tiles that have been firmly adhered to the floor will require excessive time and effort by flooring contractors to remove. It can even result in floors requiring re-finishing. In addition, potentially harmful chemicals to remove the residual glue and any carpet debris from the floor may also be required. In these situations, the amount of re-usable tile is usually significantly reduced, leaving them to be recycled through more conventional routes.
While there are a number of options available in glue-free carpet tiles, those that don’t require additional materials, like peel away film or sticky tabs and their associated packaging, will help minimise any unnecessary waste.
Milliken’s TractionBack®, carpet tiles are specifically engineered for easy installation and uplift for future re-use. With an innovative high friction coating applied to the back of each tile (or plank) during the manufacturing process, tiles can be uplifted cleanly and efficiently without damage to the tile or the floor beneath. The unique nature of the coating also means that carpet can be cleaned where necessary and re-installed just as effectively for a second use.
To make the carpet tile take-back process as effective as possible, the future success of carpet tile recycling in the form of re-use depends on forward thinking innovations like this. While inevitably some soiled, worn or partial tiles will revert to the conventional recycling streams, it is vital that carpet tiles are engineered, where possible, in a way that maximises their yield for full circularity to succeed.
While easy uplift is clearly a pre-requisite for successful carpet tile reuse, this is entirely underpinned by the requirement for the carpet tiles themselves to be robust enough to withstand a second life. High performance carpet tiles, particularly those with cushion backing that are engineered for an extended wear life, can be given a an additional wear warranty for their second use.
As a product often used in high volumes and historically with a high embodied carbon rating, ensuring any new carpet tile specification is glue-free and designed for longevity will give it the best chance of a full and circular life.
Other ways in which you can reduce the carbon footprint of your carpet specification can be found in our related blog: A GUIDE TO SPECIFYING LOW CARBON CARPET TILES
Colour Compositions with TractionBack® at Hoffmann Logistics