When it comes to sustainability, communicating details around the issue can be extremely complex and the language used is imperative in ensuring that a genuine and transparent message is projected. A report released today conducted by Zero Waste Europe, the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) and the Changing Markets Foundation has brought to light a misleading message which was communicated to consumers earlier this year.
Almost 9 in 10 Brits have carpet in their home and 400,000 tonnes of carpet are discarded in the UK ... [+]
According to statements made by Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK), supposedly one of the UK’s leading carpet recycling organisations, they increased the percentage of carpet waste which had been diverted from landfill in 2018. They claimed the organisation and its members diverted 44% of waste from ending up in landfills throughout the UK. This was in itself true, but the report unfortunately failed to state clearly what had happened to the waste instead.
This new briefing, including research conducted by Eunomia Consulting, reveals that 73% (nearly 130,00 tonnes of carpet) of this diversion took the form of incineration. While carpet waste is a huge issue in the UK with up to 400,000 tonnes (an area close to the geographical size of Birmingham) being disposed of each year, the need to tackle this crisis is crucial and transparency is paramount in order for solutions to be reached quickly and successfully. The process of incineration is extremely harmful, causing the release of dangerous toxic chemicals and an increase in carbon emissions. According to the report, the incineration of 130,00 tonnes of waste carpet costs the UK society around £16.5 million a year in unpaid climate damage alone (based on the Government's central carbon price estimate of £68.25 per tonne of CO2).
Carpet waste is an urgent issue which needs addressing not only in the UK but globally.
The main reason for companies to opt for landfill or incineration is unfortunately down to both convenience and cost and, with carpets currently being difficult to recycle, manufacturing processes also have to change. Legislation is urgently required to increase the cost of both incineration and landfill which would then encourage recycling as the viable solution. Without the transparency needed to highlight these issues, improvements will take longer to implement.
Changing Markets have been pushing for change within the industry asking for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – this would make carpet manufacturers responsible for the costs of dealing with carpet waste at its end-of-life, and could be implemented via a number of policy tools which are outlined within their report. The report also calls for CRUK (and its member companies) to publicly support mandatory legislation, such as EPR, to ensure that the industry moves towards a more sustainable, circular model.
While Tarkett are a founding member of CRUK via its European subsidiary Desso, they are one of the few companies putting a concerted effort into revolutionising the industry. Making products which are easier to recycle is something they have worked on over the past decade and last week they opened a new carpet tile recycling centre in the Netherlands alongside a new take-back and recycling scheme for post-use carpet tiles.
Carpet Recycling UK have not been clear in relation to the methods they use to divert carpet waste ... [+]
Whilst today’s report highlights the issues around the carpet industry itself, it also brings to attention the need for honest communication strategies around such initiatives. In CRUK’s commentary, the diverting of waste was more of a deflection of the problem and by disguising the use of incineration with terms such as ‘Recovered Fuels’ and ‘Incineration – EfW’ (energy-from-waste) it gave the misleading impression a positive solution had been reached.
Carpet incineration has devastating environmental impacts with an increase in carbon emissions.
Rather than pointing the finger, I urge organisations to use this as an example of how an ambiguous message can be misunderstood. These companies need to emphasise the importance of clear communication to ensure industries can work together at a faster pace towards a brighter future for all.
While sustainable issues can be complex to explain in writing, don't take advantage of consumers who may not fully understand the technical jargon being used to shroud the truth. We all have a responsibility to make conscious choices but with distorted marketing this can be a difficult message to decipher. While green-tech systems and recycling schemes are being improved and upgraded, to move towards a closed-loop circular economy, we understand it is extremely difficult to tick every box but all we ask is to communicate a clear message which tells us the stage each company is at. Remember, sustainability is a journey, not a destination!
