Brennen Jensen joins CARE as Project Manager for the California Carpet Stewardship Program

Brennen Jensen is the founder and director/principal of Emerging Ecologies. She has led programs to create sustainable, engaged, and resilient communities inspired by nature. In recent years, her efforts helped to secure over $38 million in funding for environmental programs and diverted over 4 million pounds of waste from local California landfills. We’re pleased to announce that Ms. Jensen is joining CARE to assist in managing the California Carpet Stewardship Program established under AB2398.

Brennen has a BS in Environmental Science Technology with concentrations in Landscape Ecosystems and Wilderness Conservation from Humboldt State University, as well as a BA in Spanish. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Biomimicry in collaboration with Arizona State University. Brennen is the recipient of numerous awards, including the California Department of Conservation Comprehensive Recycling Community Award and Ecology Action Five-Year Service Award.

Brennen has over a decade of experience conceiving and implementing strategic environmental and community-based programs and initiatives that address the most pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. Ms. Jensen served at the helm of the statewide implementation team for Energy Upgrade California helping to unite 58 counties, over 500 cities, and the 4 major California utilities in common purpose. With a background in government, private and non-profit organizations, Brennen has a cooperative facilitative approach that seeks to find creative solutions to complex problems, while expanding localized opportunities for waste and emissions reduction throughout California and beyond.

In her new role, Brennen will be responsible for assisting existing and potential carpet recyclers and processors with general manufacturing, communication, and business issues; managing the expansion of the Rural County Program that provides access to carpet recycling for consumers in rural areas; participating in regular visits and reviews of recycling facilities; and developing education, communications and outreach programs for targeted audiences.

"We are thrilled to have Brennen join the CARE team", says Bob Peoples, Executive Director of CARE. "Brennen brings a solid reputation and significant experience and understanding of the California marketplace to CARE. We look forward to successful growth of the Program under her leadership."

Green chemistry for more sustainable carpet

Although we don’t usually think about the chemistry behind carpet fiber, it’s a major component of carpet sustainability because almost all face fiber is produced from synthetic polymers. Synthetic polymers were discovered nearly 100 years ago but today, green chemistry is rapidly changing the way they are manufactured as well as the polymers themselves.

Joshua Drew Vaughn/Flickr

Green chemistry is a design philosophy that seeks to reduce the impact of chemical substances on humans, animals, plants, and the environment. There are two primary ways to achieve that goal. First, maximize efficiency and reduce or eliminate unnecessary chemicals and processing steps. Second, reduce or eliminate hazardous and toxic chemicals to reduce the risk if exposure occurs. Whether applied to the initial laboratory synthesis or volume manufacturing, green chemistry offers a way to reduce the impact, risk, and expense of chemical production. The core concepts of green chemistry are best demonstrated through the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry:

1. It is better to prevent waste than to treat it afterward
2. Design syntheses to maximize incorporation of all materials used into the final product
3. Use methods that use and generate less hazardous chemicals
4. Design products that maximize performance while minimizing toxicity
5. Use safer solvents (or eliminate them completely)
6. Increase energy efficiency
7. Use renewable feedstocks
8. Minimize derivatives
9. Use catalysts to minimize waste and energy
10. Design for degradation into the environment
11. Use real-time analysis to minimize byproducts
12. Minimize the potential for accidents

What does all that mean for carpet? Let’s take a look at Nylon 6,6.

The traditional synthesis of nylon 6,6 is a two-step process that first combines cyclohexene and nitric acid to produced adipic acid, which is then combined with hexamethylene diamine under high pressure to produce nylon. Cyclohexene is a reasonably safe chemical, but it is produced from benzene, which is obtained from crude oil and is a known carcinogen. Nitric acid also poses environmental risks and the results in the emission of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas.

How can green chemistry improve this synthesis? Well, instead of using nitric acid, we can use sodium tungstate, Na2WO4, as a catalyst for the first step (Principle #9). The reaction can instead be done under mild conditions in water (Principle #5) and the only byproduct is water (Principle #3). Although using sodium tungstate introduces a heavy metal to the process, because it acts as a catalyst, it is not used up during the reaction and can produce large amounts of adipic acid before needing replacement.

While this is a step in the right direction, there are potentially greener ways to produce adipic acid. Last year, cancer researchers at Duke University derived a new enzyme (the biological equivalent of a catalyst) that catalyzes the conversion of 2-oxoadipate to (R)-2-hydroxyadipate (Principle #9). This is a key step in engineering a biological system to convert sugars to adipic acid. Instead of relying on petroleum, we might one day be able to produce nylon from renewably sourced sugar (Principle #7).

Producing carpet completely from natural feedstocks instead of petroleum would greatly reduce the impact of carpet production. In fact, synthetic polymers for carpet fiber that contain renewable feedstocks are already available. Dupont uses 37% renewable resources in their Sorona polymer, which produces fibers that are both soft and stain resistant. The production of Sorona uses 30% less energy and 63% less greenhouse gases than an equal amount of nylon. Sorona is used in Mohawk’s SmartStrand carpet.

We look forward to seeing how more of the 12 principles become incorporated into carpet production. And until we can shift to rapidly renewable feedstocks, the recycle of post-consumer face fiber remains an important component of continuing to reduce the environmental footprint of this important product.

Drawing inspiration from the successes of used tire recycling

In 2009, 84.9% of nearly 300 million used tires were diverted from landfills nationwide. In 1990, that number was approximately 15%. What factors helped make the tire recycling industry so successful?

California Tire Market Report, 2010

Akin to carpet, used tires are bulky and do not degrade in landfills. Tires also have a huge amount of embedded energy: a single tire requires 5 gallons of oil for raw materials and another 2 gallons of oil to supply the energy for manufacturing (five pounds of oil go into a single pound of nylon). Unlike carpet, whole tires consist of 70% empty space and can fill up with methane when landfilled, causing them to become buoyant, float to the top, and damage the landfill’s liner.

Minnesota was the first state to ban whole tires from landfills in 1985 and since then haveve been banned from an additional 38 states. While tire stockpiles existed prior to the landfill bans, they began to grow quickly after the bans were enacted. Improperly stored tires can serve as mosquito and rodent breeding grounds. While tires cannot be ignited easily, once lit, they are very difficult to extinguish and release thick, black toxic smoke.

A series of tire fires during the 1980s and 90s put pressure on policy makers for a solution. In 1983, a fire in Winchester, Virginia burned several million tires and was declared a Superfund site. A grass fire ignited an unlicensed tire stockpile in Tracy, California in August 1998 and burned for 26 months before finally being extinguished. During that period, a second tire fire broke out in Wesley, California from a lightning strike.

California lawmakers were galvanized by the fires and authorized CalRecycle to manage the tire waste stream. The fee on tire sales was increased in order to fund an array of grants, loans, and incentives for producers and potential users of tire-derived products. The program provided basic support and technical advice for launching products and navigating the approval process for public works projects. Since nobody wants to be the first to use a new product, case studies were commissioned to demonstrate the benefits of the new products. California, other states, and the federal governments used procurement policies to drive the market for tire-derived products.

There are now numerous applications for reused or downcycled tires.  One-third of all diverted tires are used for rubberized asphalt or ground cover for playgrounds and running tracks. Whole or shredded tires can be reused as barriers around racetracks, bumpers on docks, or civil engineering projects to form embankments or improve soil drainage. Given the inherent energy in tires, nearly one-half of diverted tires are used for waste-to-energy fuel production.

Surface America PlayBound

As you can see, there were many factors that helped make tire recycling successful. Tires were stockpiled long before any regulation because they were recognized as valuable but no viable products could be brought to market. An unfortunate series of disasters led California lawmakers to establish a fund to provide market assistance to companies to bring new products to market. Over time, the market approach has been successful and the industry has matured to include several viable companies. California exceeded a 90% diversion rate for tires for the first time in 2012.

CARE is working closely with the carpet industry, recycling entrepreneurs and local municipalities to tackle the challenges of carpet recycling. Carpet is not a hazardous waste like tires, but it does contain valuable raw materials and energy which can be recovered and recycled.   The aspirational goal of CARE is that no carpet goes to landfill in the future. We are looking for great ideas to help accomplish this goal.  Contact CARE’s Executive Director, Bob Peoples at bpeoples@carpetrecovery.org to learn more.

CARE seeks California researchers to demonstrate new uses for recycled PET

Carpets made from polyester (a.k.a. polyethylene terephthalate or PET) are becoming increasingly popular. While PET made up just 4% of the post-consumer carpet (PCC) stream in 2007, at least 29% of California’s landfill-diverted carpet now consists of PET. While some of the PCC PET can be reprocessed into value-added materials such as carpet underpads, much of it is sent back to the landfill due to a lack of viable outputs. To help find new markets for this material, CARE is seeking to fund research proposals from researchers at California universities.

Carpet Face Fiber Material N6, N66, PP, and PET refer to nylon-6, nylon-66, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate. Data is based on reports by California recyclers. Parentheses indicate the change in percentage from previous quarter. Source: CARE California AB2398 2013Q2 Results

PET is one of the most ubiquitous plastics and makes up one-sixth of global plastics production. You may be more familiar with PET in the form of a soda bottle or a polyester sweater, but PET also makes up a large amount of carpet fiber. While much of that virgin PET goes into textiles, polyester carpet is a common and growing output for recycled soda bottles.

Each time PET is recycled, it is contaminated with dyes and additives and the melting process leads to degradation, decreased strength, and optical cloudiness. The sheer amount of recycled PET available keeps prices low and the low price of virgin PET prevents chemical reprocessing into a virgin-like material. Unlike nylon, the brittleness of PET limits its reuse in embedded fibers or engineered resins. While nylon is a money maker for carpet recyclers, PET carpet cuts into their bottom line.

What would it take for the carpet industry to consider blending PCC PET back into flake for extrusion into PET carpet fiber? What are some new uses and applications for PCC PET? CARE will provide research grants to researchers at a California university who are interested in exploring these questions. The research proposal should be a multidisciplinary effort including materials science, product development, and market analysis and modeling. The deadline for submissions is December 20, 2013. Learn more about the grant and application process.

Interface uses recovered fishing nets for new carpet

Discarded fishing gear is a huge problem. A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 640,000 tons of fishing gear is discarded annually that washes up on beaches, sinks to the ocean floor, collects in floating garbage patches, and tangles fish, birds, and other wildlife. Typically made from nylon to improve its stability in salt water, it takes centuries for the fishing gear to biodegrade.

Carpet manufacturer Interface and the Zoological Society of London have teamed up to form NetWorks, a joint-initiative to collect abandoned nylon fishing gear and turn it into new carpets by reprocessing the nylon.

A pilot project at the Danajon Bank in the Philippines involved 892 local fishers and their families collecting discarded nets in exchange for rice. Local families live in extreme poverty and the program provides a practical alternative to fishing as catches decline from overfishing. The program has recovered nine tons of discarded fishing gear during the one-year pilot. NetWorks hopes to expand the program to neighboring areas in the Philippines and beyond.

After collection, the recovered fishing gear is sent to Aquafil, which reprocesses the nylon into fresh yarns using their Econyl process. The yarns, made of 100 percent recycled material, is then sold back to Interface for manufacturing carpet tiles. Interface is launching a new product line called Net Effect, which will be made from the recovered fishing gear and consists of up to 81 percent total recycled content.

By creating a new market for discarded fishing nets, the NetWorks project will help reduce pollution and alleviate hunger in more places as it expands. We hope that it encourages fisherman to recognize the value of their nets and to prevent pollution at the source.

Handling with Care

CARE’s executive director Bob Peoples was recently published in the Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine. You can read his story, “Handling with Care” on the C&D webpage. 

Nycon-G uses recycled carpet for better, crack-free concrete

Everyone is familiar with the sight of steel “rebar” embedded in reinforced concrete, but you’d probably think twice about adding used carpet to concrete.

The use of fibers to improve building materials is a centuries-old technique. Animal hair was commonly used in plaster and mud bricks during the Middle Ages. Asbestos fiber was added to concrete during the early twentieth century. Fiber-reinforced concrete has better impact resistance and toughness than normal concrete, making it less likely to break into pieces.

Nycon pioneered the use of synthetic fibers, especially nylon, for reinforcing concrete during the 1980s. Both polypropylene and nylon fiber are especially good for preventing cracking in concrete. The fibers can stretch or shrink as the concrete around it contracts or expands, such as during temperature changes. Additionally, the fibers prevent any microscopic cracks that do form from growing into larger cracks.

Nycon found that the advantage of using nylon is that it’s stable in most conditions and stronger than polypropylene fibers. Nylon can be treated so the fibers’ surface bonds with concrete, allowing them to be mixed together with ease. Unlike polypropylene, nylon doesn’t float to the surface and is unnoticeable in the finished product.

The main disadvantage of using nylon is that it’s expensive– it costs almost twice as much per pound as polypropylene. Fortunately, there’s another source for nylon fiber: recycled carpet! The short fibers found in carpet are ideal for processing into fiber for improving concrete once removed from the backing and unbundled from the yarns. The multi-step process was developed and patented by Paul Bracegirdle and licensed to Nycon.

Nycon sells the processed, reclaimed carpet fibers as part of their Nycon-G product line, which typically sells for 20% less than its virgin-material counterpart. Testing has shown that there’s no difference in crack-prevention performance between Nycon-G and using virgin nylon (see a video of Nycon-G in action).

“Nycon-G has been fairly well accepted by the customers and used primarily due to lower cost than virgin,” says Paul Bracegirdle.

In addition to being less expensive, sourcing nylon from the carpet waste stream saves water, energy, and emissions while keeping valuable materials out of landfills!

The Heldrich Hotel and Conference Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey
relied on approximately 500 precast concrete panels that were
improved with Nycon-G.