At their core, the synthetic fibers that make up the majority of carpets are plastics, and the components of these fibers are just as reusable as those in a soda bottle — in many cases, even more so. With this in mind, carpet recycling should be as common as plastics recycling.

 

Indeed, the interest in recycling carpet stems from the chemical compounds that make up the carpet fibers. According to Russ DeLozier, manager of materials reclamation at Shaw Floors in Dalton, Ga., the primary compound in carpet fiber, as with most plastics, is hydrocarbon, which is commonly drawn from fossil fuels.

 

“Hydrocarbons are limited resources,” he says. “The truth is we should recycle any limited resource.”