“CARE”-ing About Carpet Recycling
CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort)
is a nonprofit organization working to develop the infrastructure needed to recycle carpet efficiently across the U.S. The mission of CARE is “to advance market-based solutions that increase landfill diversion and recycling of post-consumer carpet, and encourage design for recyclability.”
Post-consumer carpet diversion and recycling provide economic, social, and environmental benefits to all involved. So, why don’t more people recycle carpet?
The Challenges Of Recycling Carpet
Carpet and carpet pads are commodities that are not easily recycled.
Carpets are full of fibrous materials that do not allow them to break down in landfills. This adds more strain to an already burdened waste system. Carpet consists of different chemical components, which makes it difficult to recycle properly.
A Harmony S60XDRC baling up carpet scraps.
And, everyone knows that carpet is big, bulky, and stubborn to collect, stack, and transport.
Despite all of these challenges, nearly all types of carpet can be recycled! Did you know that most types of carpets can be broken down and used to make a new products? Recycled carpet is typically turned back into plastic resin that can be used to make a variety of products for the automotive, transportation, construction, and home industries.
Carpet Balers
A bale of mattress foam from a Harmony HM-60 horizontal baler.
Whether you operate a business or are a recycler that has reclaimed carpet as an operational byproduct, the easiest way to prepare carpet, carpet pad, or foam to be sent to a recycling processor is to bale it using a recycling baler designed to handle such large and rigid commodities.
Typically, these machines are larger vertical or horizontal balers that are able to receive, reduce, and bale big volumes of carpet or foam. They are often fed by large sized hopper that can be configured with conveyor belts for automatic feeding. The balers cycle automatically, and some even come with auto-tie features. All of these help to reduce the labor required to bale up the carpet.
A close up of a mill-sized bale of carpet made by a Harmony T60XDRC!
With the right type of carpet baler, the memory, or “bounce-back” of carpet, pads, and foam is easily mitigated, and the balers make extremely dense, “mill-sized” bales that are easy move, stored, and maximize shipping space when transported.
All of these benefits reduce labor and hauling costs, maximize space, and eliminate unnecessary hazards in your work areas.
Choosing A Baler For Carpet?
Carpet baling should only be done with a machine designed for that application, ram force, bale size, and density. It is essential that you work with industry professionals that have the knowledge and experience to guide you to the right decision for your business.
Harmony Enterprises is proud to offer several models of carpet balers for every situation. We manufacture long lasting vertical balers with or without conveyors, like our S60XDRC and T60XDRC, as well as larger horizontal balers like our HM-60 Manual Tie Baler, our HM60-2R185 Two Ram Baler, and our HM-A160 Auto Tie Baler. All of these are capable of being fed with multiple configurations and make dense mill-size bales of carpet, foam, and even textiles.
If you would like to learn more about these quality carpet balers, or any of our over 20 models of recycling balers, please call us at (507) 8860-6666 or fill out this simple form. One of our knowledgeable sales staff is ready to help achieve your sustainability goals, lower costs, and earn additional revenue today!
