There has been a ‘clear shift’ in industry support for collaboration to recover textile flooring waste materials and help develop technology and infrastructure for the circular economy, according to Carpet Recycling UK.
‘We received a tremendously positive response from the 90plus delegates at the annual conference who felt motivated to take greater action on sustainability within their organisations and collectively as a sector. We look forward to continuing the conversations and turning ideas into actions,’ says Adnan Zeb-Khan, CRUK scheme manager.
Sponsored by the Condor Group and IVC Commercial, the comprehensive two-day programme – CRUK’s first in-person event for three years focussed on circularity advancements and market-based solutions, research topics and case studies to demonstrate members’ achievements. Also covered, were policy and legislative changes, and technology advances within the sector in relation to treating the waste more sustainably, design for recycling and waste reduction for textile flooring.
‘Case studies from our member network demonstrated the importance of working closely with CRUK in achieving desired outcomes, with one member quoting up to £200,000 worth of savings on annual waste collection expenditure.’
Through its 119-strong membership and 15 core funders (both record highs), plus extensive UK-wide and international network, the not-for-profit association is assisting the sector in creating new initiatives aimed at pushing a greater proportion of the tonnage of waste arising up the waste hierarchy into reuse. CRUK announced at the conference that the volume of textile flooring waste diverted from landfill has increased again – an increase from 65% in 2019 to 70% in 2020. Due to several market influences and factors, a greater proportion is going to energy from waste outlets and a key focus will be to help to reduce this by potentially creating new markets.
‘It was recognised and agreed that CRUK is the best organisation to lead the sector forward towards the Circular Economy and to consult with policy makers and legislators. I have now been asked to present at the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee conference in October to help raise awareness amongst local government and will be sitting on the sustainability committee for The Furniture Makers Company to represent flooring. Liaison with other key related industries is essential in driving forward innovation and developments for the sector.”
‘Anyone who is not currently a member of CRUK in this sector, be it raw material supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler, contractor, retailer, technology company or recycler is encouraged to make contact and join us at this important, perhaps crucial, time, to collaborate in the sector’s next steps on sustainability and legislation, to be a part of CRUK moving forward and to benefit from the successes that membership can bring.’
The event also saw the presentation of the CRUK 2022 awards (pictured).
