Do you have some old carpet in the house that you are not going to be able to use? Perhaps you have just replaced all of the main carpeting in the home, and you are trying to figure out what you should do with the old carpet that you have torn out and have no use for any longer. Rather than throwing it away, you will want to recycle your old carpet. After all, there are billions of pounds of old carpeting that ends up in the landfill annually, and you do not want to contribute to that environmental mess. Instead, you will want to recycle.

RECYCLE WITH CARE

CARE, the Carpet America Recovery Effort, is an organization that has been around since 2002, and has helped to divert billions of pounds of old carpeting from the landfills. Their website offers a range of resources, which can help those who have carpeting that they need recycled. For example, the Collector Finder Map indicates the names and locations of recycling centers that take carpet all across the United States. While there may not be locations in all states, you will still find that there are a substantial number of these centers around the nation.

SOME MANUFACTURERS HELP YOU RECYCLE

You will also want to look at the carpet’s manufacturer to see if they will allow you to ship back old carpets to them. Some of the companies, particularly those that make carpets that utilize recycled materials, will take old carpeting off your hands. Some of the companies that can often do this include Mohawk, Shaw, Milliken, and Flor. Of course, you will want to get in touch with the company before you simply ship off your carpeting to them!

CONSIDER DONATING THE CARPET

If you do not have any facilities in your area that can help with recycling, it does not mean that you have to take the carpet to the landfill. As long as the carpet is still in somewhat decent shape, you could always try to donate the carpet to an animal shelter or some type of nonprofit that could benefit from it. This way, you are doing some extra good and you are not filling up the dumps with carpeting.

THINK ABOUT OTHER WAYS YOU CAN USE OLD CARPET

If you can’t find anyone who can take the carpeting offer your hands, there are still some other ways that you can use the carpet in your home. You could use some of it in the garage or the basement, for example. If you are considering turning those spaces into areas where you work on a hobby or where you have a game room, having carpeting is a nice touch. It’s even nicer when it is carpet that you already own, so you do not have to buy more. You could use the carpeting as part of a dog bed, to make cat post scratchers, and much more. There are plenty of ways that you can reuse or recycle your old carpet.