CLEAR says Recycling, an Attractive Method for Handling Carpet Waste Carpet Recycler: No Mandates, Please. CLEAR says Recycling, an Attractive Method for Handling Carpet Waste.
There is no question that the American carpet industry has taken a leadership role in carpet stewardship and product recycling. In just the last decade when such measurements began, more than two billion pounds of waste carpet have been reclaimed from landfills in the U.S. and recycled or otherwise reused. The fact that the carpet industry’s role in all of this was taken on voluntarily is also impressive, especially in light of critics who contend that industry does not take action to protect the environment unless forced to by some form of government or another.
Controversy exists over who should ultimately be responsible for disposing of products we no longer need, and battle lines are usually drawn between those who say manufacturers should pay for everything and those who say governments should bear the costs.
So I was interested in this web page posting from CLEAR, a national carpet and pad recycler located in the Milwaukee area. The site states, “CLEAR Carpet Recycling shares the opinion that laws, mandates and legislation are not needed to make carpet recycling an attractive method of handling carpet waste.”
Under the heading, “All in Favor of New Taxes, Say ‘Aye’”, CLEAR outlines the company’s position on carpet stewardship, saying that carpet stewardship is, in effect a form of tax or a fee, “assessed by a governing body and charged by a retailer when new carpet is purchased.”
California is the first state to impose such a fee, (or, as the state calls it, an assessment) on carpet. Beginning in July, 2011, California law AB 2398 requires consumers to pay an additional 0.05 per-square yard for new carpet. This fund is administered by the non-profit Carpet America Recovery Effort and the money is used to promote carpet recycling. CLEAR Recycling supports CARE’s position that recycling and landfill diversion efforts work best when the free market system controls the process. The CLEAR site says:
“Over the past few years, carpet recycling has grown dramatically. The number of companies involved in carpet recycling, from the collection to the processing, continues to expand. The carpet recycling sector is experiencing a gold-rush of sorts, as players enter the market and claim their turf.
If the trend continues and companies like CLEAR are successful in setting up carpet recycling in large parts of the country, additional stewardship laws will not be needed.”
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