InterfaceFLOR, the modular flooring division of Atlanta-based carpet and modular carpet tile manufacturer Interface Inc., has brought its ReEntry 2.0 system of separating yarn and backing from used carpet tile to its European operation in the Netherlands. The company began using the system to reprocess such materials in the United States four years ago.

InterfaceFLOR expects to divert some 2,700 metric tons — equivalent to more than 600,000 square meters (m2) — of used carpet tile from European disposal facilities annually, enabling the materials to be recycled into new carpet tile yarn and backing. According to the company, four times less energy is required to process materials through the ReEntry 2.0 system than is needed to process the same amount of virgin materials for carpet production. In addition, because the Netherlands facility is powered 100-percent by renewable electricity, backing materials reprocessed through the system use 20 times less energy than virgin backing.

"For many years the carpet industry has struggled to develop recycling methods that are economically and technically viable," said Ton van Keken, senior vice president of operations, InterfaceFLOR EMEAI. "In Europe alone, it is estimated that nearly 30 million m2 of carpet tiles could be sent to landfill or incinerated in 2011. This is a waste of valuable resources and has an unacceptable impact on the environment. With capacity diminishing rapidly and landfill tax rising annually, it is clear that this option is both environmentally and financially unsustainable."

Van Keken added, "ReEntry 2.0 ... moves like-for-like recycling to the next level, bringing us closer to our ambition to close the loop in manufacturing."

March 15, 2011