August 2024

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Reuse Stories: CARE Helps Divert Carpet Tile to School 

When a large company in Southern California recently changed their logo, they needed to refresh their offices’ 3,000 square yards of flooring to reflect their new brand colors. Denise Tamez, the Milliken account manager who had worked on the original installation, wanted to find a good home for that lightly used carpet tile. She worked with the San Diego Office of Education to locate a school district in need and found a school in Alpine, a small town in the Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County.

CARE worked to facilitate this project and was able to place a container on the site of the company where the tiles were replaced. Then CARE transported the container to Alpine, where the carpet was offloaded at the school. This carpet was kept out of the landfill and is now installed in 20 classrooms, a multi-purpose room and the administrative office of Creekside Early Learning Center in Alpine.

CARE Welcomes New Public Drop-off Sites

CARE welcomes two new public drop-off sites this month:

• Holly Home Carpets, San Marcos, San Diego County
• Sacramento Recycling & Transfer Station, Sacramento, Sacramento County

There are currently 151 CARE public drop-off sites servicing all 58 California counties.

CARE supports drop-off sites by providing at no cost:

• A container for collection
• Third-party hauling to transport carpet material to recyclers
• Promotional materials for local government and the hosting facility
• Technical assistance from CARE staff
• Ready access to micro grants that support site set-up and collection equipment/infrastructure.

To find the CARE-sponsored drop-off site closest to you, visit the drop-off site map. If there is a location, such as a supply house, landfill, transfer station or recycling facility that you feel would work well as a drop-off site for you and other flooring professionals near you, please email CARE with the facility's name, location and business phone number. A CARE staff person will call you to discuss your volume, learn more about flooring professionals’ needs in your area and work toward finding a solution.

In addition to public drop-off sites, CARE works with the recyclers who operate some 196 private collection sites around the state.

An updated print map booklet listing all CARE public Drop-off sites as of June 2024 is available. Download here or request copies at CA@CarpetRecovery.org.

CARE Reaching Out to Recycling Coordinators

Recently CARE sent a survey to local recycling coordinators to seek input about their knowledge of carpet recycling and to understand how CARE could best support local carpet recycling education initiatives. The survey gained responses from 45 different jurisdictions across the state.

Results suggest that while recycling coordinators are familiar with CARE and carpet recycling, there are opportunities for further education and a desire for collateral and content to facilitate outreach. Many responses identified ways to raise local awareness of carpet recycling and support recycling coordinators’ existing efforts; this data will inform CARE’s future work with local governments and is integral to meeting the goals of the California Carpet Stewardship Program Plan. Stay tuned for more to come on this important initiative.

For more information about CARE’s work with local governments, visit the Recycling Coordinators webpage. 

CARE on the Road

The CARE team tabled at this month’s California Resource Recovery Association Conference, meeting with local government recycling staff to explore how best to integrate carpet recycling into their activities and communications.

Carpet Recycling Questions? We’ve Got Answers!

CARE frequently fields questions from members of the public about what to do with carpet tear-out. We respond promptly with the most complete information possible… every square yard counts! Retailers and members of the public are encouraged to email us at CA@CarpetRecovery.org with questions about carpet recycling in California.

CarpetRecovery.org/CA