As I was researching carpet statistics, I came across these amazing facts from Color Your Carpet” Carpet replacement is costly. Discarded carpet is becoming a multi-million dollar property liability. Predictions are that landfill charges will likely double every 5 years or so now. Actual cost of new carpet is still far less inflated that almost any other industry. But other costs associated with carpet replacement such as removal, installation, disposal, transportation and regulation have created a demand for enviromentally sensible alternatives. For landfill costs alone, one company has calculated their cost to exceed $4 million over 10 years*.
- Example based on 17 million square feet in one actual northeastern U.S. company at 15% landfill cost increase per year.
According to the Carpet & Rug Institute, “70% of all carpet replaced each year is replaced for reasons other than wear”! We can help because that carpet saved by our unique on-site carpet dyeing and color restoration services.
There are only three reasons why that 70% is discarded:
The owner states that the carpet color is the wrong color or an outdated color for their decorating purposes. The owner states that they are tired of the existing carpet color and want a change. The owner states that the carpet is ugly, discolored or appears to be “worn out”.
90% of that carpet could be redyed by the Color Your Carpet® services and kept out of our landfills!
- Of all floor covering, carpet accounts for 72% of the market.
- Tufted (mostly wall-to-wall) accounts for 91.5% of the total carpet market
- Residential market accounts for 61% of all carpet (new and existing)
- Contract or commercial market accounts for 39% of all carpet (new and existing)
USA Annual Carpet Dumped into Our Landfills
| Annual Carpet to the Landfill in Sq Yds | Annual Carpet to the Landfill in Pounds |
| 800,000,000 sq yds per yr to landfill= | 4,000,000,000 divided by 5 lbs per sq yd |
| 800 million sq yds to the landfill per year= |
4 billion pounds to the landfill per year |
| (@5 lbs weight per sq yd carpet average) |
USA Annual New Carpet Sales
| New Carpet Sales Per Year in Sq Yds | New Carpet Sales Per Year in Pounds |
| 1,800,000,000 sq yds sold per year= | 9,000,000,000 pounds per year sold |
| 1.8 billion sq yds New Carpet sold per year= |
9 billion pounds New Carpet sold per year |
| About $38 billion in retail sales if average price is $21/sq yd |
(@5 lbs weight per sq yd carpet average) 100 sq yds weighs about 500 pounds |
Even if Color Your Carpet® could only save 50% of this carpet by dyeing and color restoration,
that’s more than 4.5 billion pounds saved from our landfills each year in residential carpet alone!.
*Example based on 17 million square feet in one actual northeastern U.S. company at 15% landfill cost increase per year.
I didn’t mean to get on the bandwagon about carpeting, it’s just I feel bad, because I put my old carpeting in the trash! I could have recycled it!
15 Things to Consider When Buying an Eco Carpet
1.) Look/Color and Style
2.) Toxins: Carpeting is a collector of dust, pollutants and toxins.
3.) Can you reuse the old one? Can you dye it?
4.) Do you want the whole roll? If you buy in squares, it is easy to replace and thus reducing landfill waste.
5.) Where is it going to be placed? Will high traffic areas increase maintenance? Do you need Stain protection?
6.) Moisture: Are you subject to flooding, or live in a wet environment, where carpet can collect MOLD?
7.) Do you want to buy or lease? Yes there are companies that lease carpets.
8.) When selecting carpet, specify carpeting that is made with recycled materials.
9.) When selecting carpet look for companies that will recycle your old carpeting.
10.) Performance and Durability: Buy the best you can afford.
11.) Static Resistance: Do you want to be shocked or have your clothes stick to you?
12.) Padding: How thick?
13.) Cost? To calculate your ROI (Return on Investment) go to Green and Save
14.) Is this for yourself, rental or resale?
15.) Maintenance: See this report on Carpet Cleaning from Floor Talk
16.) Are you going to install it yourself? Some tips from Carpetology
Resources:
Maintenance: Here are some tips from Inform. org, to better care for you carpet.
Reclaimed Carpet :
Carpet America Recovery Effort:
Environment Design and Construction Magazine:
Colorado State University: Selecting Your Carpet
What a terrific post and angle! You make really important points about buying the best carpet possible, so it will wear well and continue looking beautiful rather than uglying out. Thanks, too, for mentioning The Carpetology Blog and getting the word out about CARE.
Yes all great info – however- as noted on that website and all other websites or articles associated with Color Your Carpet, that all Color Your Carpet data is registered as copyrighted with the Library of Congress (not just stated by the author), so you should post the fact that it is copyrighted material.
As far as eco-friendly and environmentally positive impacts go, I have dedicated many years to educating consumers and the general public to Pre-cycling, Pro-cycling and Eco-cycling. All explained on my websites.
I will also add that some carpets tauted as eco-friendly are in fact detrimental to the environment and cause excess waste in the landfills. Namely the over-advertised “recycled” plastic soda containers. Someone needs to do the real math. Maybe I will. But in brief- the carpets made from plastic jugs and chips don’t last even a year or two on a average residential property. So compared to Nylon or wool (life cycle of 20 years average IF cared for properly)it’s far worse economically and environmentally.
For more contrast, those horrible Olefin (polypropylene), P.E.T (Polyethylene Terephthalate), Polyester wind up back in the landfill 10 to 20 times faster than nylon or wool. Now that’s a brief statement, I have hundreds of pages of research and articles to address any doubt.
I have a commercial interest in promoting higher quality carpets, namely wool and Nylon – but I do not sell carpets nor do I clean carpets. I teach Dye Masters how to restore color on-site and to re-dye carpets or change color. My credentials are on my websites. I am constantly shocked at the manipulated facts and the endorsement by self proclaimed experts who dupe the non-profit organizations into “buying” their “pro-green” sales pitches.
There is no better floor covering than good quality Nylon and/or wool. Carpet is far better for humans and animals (allergy sufferers and asthmatics, etc.) as well as the environment. Read the SCIENTIFIC results at:
http://www.canadiancarpet.org/carpet_and_health/air_quality/scientific_studies.php
Common sense will prevail if you have enough correct information.
Carpet made from recycled anything costs more to collect, refine, produce, transport, reship and sell. Also it has a lower “life-cycle” than new Nylon carpet.
As for on-site carpet dyeing, Color Your Carpet® chemicals and dyes are safe and non-toxic. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available for inspection. Most of our chemicals and dyes have a neutral pH of 7. Quality control of products, methods, employee safety and environmental concerns are a top priority of our system.
Extensive, comprehensive training of our franchisees and their technicians are an integral part of our Carpet Dyeing and Color Restoration Certification program. With a track record of more than 20 years, we have not had even one health or safety related incident or liability claim. We take great pride in this unsurpassed safety record.
While all this may sound like a commercial, it is my life’s work and I am very passionate about it. I am just as passionate about doing my part to preserve the environment and provide the safest possible carpet re-dyeing services to carpet and rug owners.
And for the record, we cannot keep up with the demand for our unique services. Unfortunately many people try to imitate our system and plagiarize our intellectual property or technology, all quite unsuccessfully to date.
All I ask is that you research thoroughly any product or service that claims to be better for the environment and our health. And if you are going to quote something from a credible source that you acknowledge the rights of that entity and make sure it’s provided in context properly.
I sure wish I had more free time to provide more magnanomous information. But keep up the good work and communication on blogs and forums. I’m off to check out the other mentioned websites.
I just received this comment, and the one subject I didn’t address was reusing your old carpet, which is the best thing you can do. Keeping it out of Landfills.
Please refer to the above comment.
Thank you for the information.
I’ll have to disagree with CanadianCarpet’s comment on PET carpet made from recycled soda bottles. I sell tons of it and have had a PET carpet in one of my rentals for 6 years. That’s 6 years! And it cleans up just fine…
To keep allergens to a minimum, spray allergen removal chemicals on the carpet and
upholstery occasionally. Leave them for a day or two, and then vacuum the carpet.
Also, cover heavy traffic areas with rugs to protect the carpet.
Thanks to your blog post, i must say its informative… now i know what are the things to consider when buying Eco-friendly carpet.