Carpet Differential Assessment Expected to Increase
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Differential assessments currently charged on all carpet sold in California are expected to increase on January 1, 2023. The assessment increase has to be approved by CalRecycle in a process that will take some weeks, however carpet retailers in California should prepare now for the increase that will go into effect on January 1st.
The new assessment amounts are:
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The above rates replace the current amounts that went into effect on April 1, 2022.
“This assessment increase undoubtedly is a serious burden for the approximately 2,000 California carpet retailers and the 79 carpet mills with operations in the state,” noted CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples. “The increase is necessitated by rising costs – as experienced in multiple industries today – exacerbated by declining carpet sales, the assessment funds from which support carpet recycling operations in the state. This comes at a time when the California Program has achieved remarkable results in terms of carpet collection and recycling; the assessment increase is necessary to continue the progress and to meet the challenging goals for the Program that have been set by CalRecycle.”
CARE has begun an extensive plan to communicate the change to retailers and mills. Retailers are encouraged to visit the CARE website for the latest developments.
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CalRecycle Disapproves CARE Annual Report
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CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner has signed the staff recommendation that the CARE 2021 Annual Report did not meet all the requirements in statute, regulations, and its 2018 to 2022 Plan. The director referred CARE to the Waste, Permitting, Compliance, and Mitigation Division for potential enforcement.
“We were quite dismayed by this decision,” noted CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples. CalRecycle confirmed that CARE had met goals for carpet recycling rate, number of collection sites, recyclability, reduction in disposal and number of post-consumer carpet products in the marketplace. In July, the California Carpet Stewardship Advisory Committee also commended CARE for exceeding or mostly meeting 8 of the 10 performance goals. Peoples continued, “We believe the Program has made outstanding progress and are disappointed that CalRecycle took this stance.”
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New Public Drop-Off Sites Welcomed
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As part of CARE’s efforts to increase carpet collection for recycling across the state, CARE is pleased to announce its latest public carpet recycling drop-off sites:
There are currently 114 CARE public drop-off sites in 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 here. 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 more than 200 private network collection sites around the state.
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CARE Grant Funds Commercial Carpet Recycling
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Commercial broadloom and carpet tile make up about 30% of discarded carpet in California. Yet because of its wide range of composition and less face fiber, most commercial carpet collected was not being recycled until recently. A CARE grant has allowed Lincoln, CA-based Circular Polymers, already a major force in carpet recycling in the state, to move into the commercial carpet recycling space. A CARE grant funded the purchase of U.S.-made machinery that allowed the company to accept commercial carpet and carpet tile for recycling – including traditionally hard-to-recycle polyurethane-backed tile – starting in 2021.
The grant opened up a difficult-to-reach sector of used carpet for easier and more convenient recycling. Circular Polymers has recycled approximately 600,000 pounds of additional carpet for recycling monthly in 2022 since the grant was awarded in 2021. Circular Polymers’ output increased by 27% in Q1-2 of 2022 over the same period in 2021.
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Carpet Tile Reuse: Comments Encouraged
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If you are a CARE partner and have received carpet tile for reuse from a CARE collection facility (drop-off site, collector/sorter, etc.) please provide feedback on any quality or performance concerns. CARE will share your feedback with stakeholders to help improve the program.
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CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples’ presentation is included in Contract Flooring Journal’s coverage of the last Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) Conference.
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CARE 2023 Conference: Save the Date!
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The 2023 CARE Annual Conference will take place April 25-26, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport Hotel. This year’s theme is “Carpet: Feedstock for the Future.” Details on speakers, sessions and registration will be released in January 2023. |
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Attention Retailers: CalRecycle Compliance Requirements
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CalRecycle provides enforcement oversight of California's carpet stewardship law. CalRecycle evaluates compliance through various means including, but not limited to, site inspections and documentation checks. Failure to comply with requirements of the carpet law and/or submitting false or misleading information may result in penalties of up to $10,000 per day. See details about the carpet stewardship law and monitor updates at CalRecycle.ca.gov/Carpet. Through the CARE retailer outreach program, CARE helps to make retailers aware of the requirements and be prepared for a visit.
As a reminder, CalRecycle requires:
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All invoices must have the assessment clearly and correctly labeled as a separate line item. For current assessment information, visit the CARE website.
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Retailers must purchase carpet from carpet manufacturers in compliance with the carpet stewardship law. See the list on the CalRecycle website here.
- Retailers are required by law to monitor CalRecycle’s website to determine if the sale of a manufacturer’s carpet is in compliance with the carpet stewardship law.
- Retailers must retain records for three years.
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