CARE Members Divert 311M Pounds in 2009

Santa Fe, NM, April 29, 2010--Carpet America Recovery Effort said that last year its members diverted more than 311 million pounds of post-consumer carpet from landfills.

Of that amount, 246 million pounds--nearly 80 percent of the total--was recycled back into carpet and other consumer products.

Also in 2009, the carpet recycling industry continued its growth trend, employing more than 1,600 people across the U.S.

This and other information is contained in CARE's 2009 Annual Report which was presented at the carpet recycling group's Eighth Annual Conference this week.

The past year has been one of significant accomplishments for CARE, said board chairman Frank Hurd. Most notable: a six percent increase in carpet diversion and 561 new jobs resulting directly from carpet recycling. All this during the longest downturn on record for the carpet industry.

"Before the last two years, you had to go back to 1975 and 1976 to find two consecutive years of declining sales," Hurd said, noting that, in 2008, carpet recycling experienced its first-ever decline in carpet diversion. "We are proud of the turnaround we experienced in 2009 and the return to year-over-year increases in both carpet diversion and recycling."

Carpet recycling has experienced significant growth, increasing more than 400% since 2002 when CARE was founded.
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