Carpet Recycling UK membership ‘is worth its weight in gold’ according to one award winner who says it has contributed to their sustainability goals and helped to achieve annual savings of up to £170,000 a year on disposal costs by recycling their waste materials, including carpet.
Saint Flooring won Take Back Partner of the Year Award in the Carpet Recycling UK 2020 Awards for Good Practice for success in working with the supply chain to recycle post-installation offcuts from the newbuild housing sector. The company, which diverted 250 tonnes of waste carpet from landfill in 2020, was also Highly Commended in the Recycling Champion category.
David Heafey, Finance Director at Saint Flooring, said: “I feel absolutely elated with the award as it ‘rubberstamps’ the success of our take back project implemented last year. It is testament to all the hard work over the last 12 months.”
“Across the group, we’re saving around £150,000 to £170,000 annually on skips and waste costs by recycling carpet, as well as underlay, cardboard and polythene,” he continued. “Carpet Recycling UK supported us throughout and our membership helped us to find partners to recycle the carpet. Without being a member, I do not think we would have had this success. It’s been worth its weight in gold becoming a member of Carpet Recycling UK!”
Highly Commended members are: Designer Contracts and Bath Contract Flooring.
Held online this year, the annual Carpet Recycling UK Awards for Good Practice were sponsored by recycling technology members Mach Tech Services and Warwick Ward.
The awards, which have been running for seven years, recognise the important achievements and contributions by members – both individuals and organisations – who continue to advance the sustainability of their business within the carpet, rug and textile flooring sector, and seek to help use carpet, carpet tile and other textile flooring waste as a resource in the circular economy.
Recycler of the Year Award went to John Cotton Group Ltd, which reprocesses clean manufacturing and installation offcuts into new bedding products.
Highly Commended members are: GT Recycling, Australia, Tarkett DESSO and Melrose Interiors.
GT Recycling Managing Director Trevor McLean said: “We are extremely proud and excited to be recognised for our innovative product that uses carpet fibre as a reinforcing mechanism in footpaths, cycle paths and hardstand areas.”
A founding member, Greenstream Flooring CIC picked up the Reuse Member of the Year award for the fifth time for demonstrating successful take back and reuse of carpet tiles from construction and refurbishment projects. In 2020, the organisation diverted over 50,000m² of carpet tiles from landfill.
Highly Commended member and previous award winner is: Carpet Tile Recycling.
James Bagdadi, Technical Advisor, Tarkett DESSO was named Recycling Champion of the Year and Andrew Brent from Designer Contracts was Highly Commended, along with David Heafey of Saint Flooring, mentioned above.
Carpet Recycling UK Manager, Adnan Zeb-Khan said: “We were really motivated by the variety and depth of the entries, up by 20% this year, including one from our Australian member GT Recycling. As the ‘go-to’ organisation for sustainability issues relating to circular design and end of life waste outlets for textile flooring, we will continue to represent our members’ interests and advance sustainability within the sector.”
