Think sustainable, act local: Northampton-based companies successfully try out short-chain carpet recycling
There are barely five miles between the sites of the carpet giant Associated Weavers and the sustainable start-up Innovate Recycle, and their ambitions bring them even closer together. Both Northampton-based companies are aware of the climate impact of carpet and are fully committed to innovation to make the carpet lifecycle more sustainable. With a successful joint test of polypropylene carpet recycling, they are living up to their pioneering role.
Associated Weavers (AW) has strong ties with the UK: the roots of the carpet company lie here, and it is the company’s largest sales market to date. In addition to the Halifax sales office with a 30-strong team, AW also invested in a logistics hub in Northampton in 2022 to serve the UK market even better and faster. A cut-length service is offered from this central warehouse, from which about 1.5 Mio square meters of carpet are sent to B2B customers throughout the UK every year. Over 90% of this carpet is made with polypropylene yarn, which has long been a favourite in UK households due to its excellent value for money.
An innovative solution for carpet waste
Despite precision machinery and optimal planning at its facilities, AW inevitably has to deal with a minimal amount of pre-consumer cutting waste. Innovate Recycle is also aware of this; after all, the entrepreneurs of this start-up have family ties in the carpet world. Joseph Eccleston, CEO of Innovate Recycle, confirms this: “Based on our in-depth knowledge of the carpet business and its challenges, we have developed an innovative mechanical process for the deconstruction and recycling of polypropylene carpet waste and built a factory in Northampton to put it into practice.”
Operations at this new factory started in April 2023. As part of its process line testing, Innovate Recycle used cutting waste from AW’s nearby warehouse. In the recycling process , the carpet is first shredded and then mechanically split into two fractions: Mainly polypropylene but also SBR with calcium carbonate. The recycled mix of SBR and calcium carbonate will be useful in the construction industry, among others. The polypropylene is reclaimed as fibre, baled, and pelletised on site. The pellets have a wide range of uses in injection moulding, in the automotive industry and in 3D printing for example. Each of these uses particularly appreciate the mechanical properties of the recycled polypropylene, which stands out due to its low ash content.
Significant benefits for the climate
The collaboration between Innovate Recycle and AW is an absolute win-win deal for both companies, confirms Erik Deporte, CEO of AW: “Our partnership proves that a sustainable solution for waste from carpet production is possible, and that valuable recycled raw materials can be made in the process.”
The big winner of this technological development is the climate. Innovate Recycle and AW are Northampton neighbours, which provides a short-chain advantage with minimal transport emissions. However, the greatest climate benefits are obtained from the recycling process itself and from the significant CO2 emissions it allows to avoid. The carpet waste is diverted from landfill or from use in inefficient and polluting incinerators. Instead, the component materials are recaptured and given a new useful life. In addition, recycling takes place without combustion: it is a mechanical process. As additional recycling sites are opened across the UK, Innovate Recycle will also increase the use of wind and solar energy.
Turning waste into value
The test run with AW has helped to demonstrate the technical feasibility of Innovate Recycle’s process, while at the same time proving that the recycled materials are of high quality. All conditions are therefore met for Innovate Recycle to scale up production and convert their innovative idea into a strong business model. With the cutting waste from AW's neighbouring warehouse, part of the necessary carpet input is already guaranteed in the long term. And while the recycling plant is being prepared to run at full capacity, mixing input of pre-consumer and post-consumer polypropylene carpet, both companies are not resting on their laurels. The next step? Working together to further adapt carpet design across all ranges to enable recycling and an increasingly sustainable carpet industry.
www.innovaterecycle.co.uk