Sacramento, CA, June 13, 2006--Starting September first, California will require that all carpeting installed in state buildings contain at least 10% recycled material.
The idea is to cut the amount of carpet discarded by the state -- some 840,000 tons annually.
The new California Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard was established in conjunction with the state's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing law. The new standard also requires compliance with state rules for protecting the health of building occupants by reducing the volatile organic compounds brought into indoor air by new carpeting.
California buys about 12 million square feet of new carpet annually, and throws out some five million square feet. .
The new initiative is the latest step in implementing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order for a Green Building Initiative.
In March, the state reduced the mercury in replacement fluorescent lamps by rougly 65%. From now on, only low-mercury lamps will do.
The Green Building Initiative says that state buildings constructed or renovated after December 2004 should meet the U.S. Green Building Council's "LEED Silver" certification or better.
