Company Invents Containers for Carpet Recycling

Wood River, IL, Nov. 20, 2008--NICA Corp. believes it has a better way to recycle carpet, according to a story in Trading Markets.

The company is competing as a finalist in the fourth annual Innovate Illinois competition, vying against 11 other companies for a chance to win $40,000.

"We're pretty excited," said Chris Drake, co-owner of the commercial floor covering installation company. "We think we've got a great idea, and there is nothing out there like it."

Chris Drake and his brother, Bryan Drake, are the designers of Fiber-LOOP, which is an original idea for recycling carpet.

He said that he and his brother came up with the idea because their predominant clients -- the federal government -- are pushing for flooring and carpeting to be recycled.

"We've designed a container that we think will make it easier to recycle carpet," Drake said.

He said small amounts of carpeting generally are not recycled because of the costs involved. The "recycle sleeve" would make it easier to recycle and ship scraps, he said.

The sleeves are placed in 48-inch-by-40-inch container to help bring down the shipping cost. Each container will hold 200 yards of carpet, and a tractor-trailer will be able to hold 52 containers before it is taken to one of two recycling facilities, one of which is Covanta Energy.

Covanta Energy recycles carpet and makes energy from the waste. The average facility generates 550 kilowatt-hours per ton, equal to one barrel of oil and one-quarter-ton of coal.

Covanta operates more than 20 sites across the country.

Drake said if the innovation wins, the money would be used to help fund partnerships nationwide, so that more people could recycle. He said the great thing about the container is that it can be taken to any location where carpet is removed.

"With such a push for green innovations, we think we've got a real shot and think this product will really work," Chris Drake said.