The Carpet Recyclers — a division of Fullerton, Calif.-based GF Industries, a company that
recycles and reuses industrial waste in ways that reduce costs and environmental impact — recently
opened two facilities — one in Oakland, Calif., and one in La Mirada, Calif. — to recycle
residential and commercial carpet. Products that can be manufactured from the recycled carpet
include new carpet, carpet padding, a variety of building products and high-energy fuel.
The Carpet Recyclers’ facilities, which obtained exclusive rights in the Western United
States to state-of-the-art carpet recovery equipment, have the capacity to process 400,000 pounds
of carpet each day. According to the Carpet America Recovery Effort™ (CARE) — a nonprofit
organization that comprises manufacturers, recycling entrepreneurs and government agencies; and
works to find market-based solutions for recycling carpet and diverting it from landfills —
400,000 pounds of carpet is equivalent to 932 barrels of oil. The Carpet Recyclers reports that 3.2
percent of all waste entering California landfills is old carpet — totaling some 1.3 billion
pounds.
“Since 1992, GF Industries has been turning waste into resources through our innovative waste
recovery, beneficial reuse and recycling solutions that reduce costs for our customers and help the
environment,” said Larry Fink, president, GF Industries. “We are excited to add our expertise to
carpet recycling with the opening of our first two ‘The Carpet Recyclers’ facilities and creating
50 green jobs.”
October 12, 2010
