The UK welcomes the first fully renewable carpet recycling plant
The UK has around 400,000 tonnes of waste carpet to process each year. Usually, the carpets go to either the landfill, are incinerated, or are shredded to be used as ground material for animals. Unfortunately, this can result in negative environmental effects such as seeping toxic pollutants, an increase in CO2 emissions, and an increase in macro-plastic pollution, respectively. However, Innovate Recycle is repurposing carpets at their new recycling plant powered by renewable energy. A large number of carpets received contain polypropylene, which can be extracted and formed into pellets that can be sold to several sectors. This high-quality recycled carpet plastic can be used in a variety of products, including material for 3D printing. Read more.
Photo by Erfan Banaei on Unsplash