Dive Brief:

• The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has partnered with Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) and formed a voluntary product stewardship (VPS) program that serves to help sorters who divert carpets from landfills.
• The goal of the organizations is to provide financial assistance to sorters based in the U.S.
• CRI, an organization that educates consumers and the industry about carpeting and CARE, a non-profit committed to finding market-based solutions for post-consumer carpet, were created to accept and manage post-consumer carpeting.

Dive Insight:

Since 2002, CARE has diverted over 3.5 billion pounds of carpet from landfills, while members of CRI have committed $4.5 million for the first year the program is in effect. 

The VPS program is slated to start in January 2015, while qualified sorters are expected to receive funding by June 2015, according to Recycling Today.

In June, CARE released its annual report showing a 52% increase in U.S. post-consumer carpet collections from 2012 to 2013. Last year saw 87% growth in post-consumer carpet recycled into carpet face fiber - 28% of the total volume recycled.