CalRecycle Approves CARE's Five-Year Plan

Dalton, GA, February 22, 2019-California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) director Scott Smithline yesterday approved the most recent Five-Year Plan submitted by Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). 

The Plan’s approval means that CARE will continue as the carpet stewardship organization for California and will keep working aggressively to meet the goals of legislation (AB 2398 and AB 1158) to reduce the amount of carpet going to landfill and to create a market for recycled carpet material.

“We are working hard to support recyclers and to ensure that we meet or exceed the 24% carpet recycling rate goal set by the Plan by January 1, 2020,” said CARE executive director Robert Peoples.

Like many textiles, carpet is made of petroleum-based material. Currently, more than 340 million pounds of used carpet are discarded in California landfills each year. Recovered carpet can be used to manufacture new carpet fiber, building and construction materials and products for the consumer and automotive industries, among other uses. See more on products here. The California Carpet Stewardship Program is funded by an assessment-35 cents per square yard-on all carpet sold in California.