July 2026

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New Micro and Innovation & Design Grants Support Increased Collection, Reuse and Recycling

The California Carpet Stewardship Program has awarded six new grants supporting innovative approaches to increasing carpet collection, reuse and closed loop recycling throughout California.

Cycle 4 Innovation & Design (I&D) Grants were awarded to:

Birch Biosciences 
(Portland, OR) – $50,000

Birch Biosciences (carpet recycling team pictured) was selected to advance an innovative enzymatic recycling technology designed to convert post-consumer polyester carpet face fiber into virgin-quality raw materials suitable for manufacturing new polyester products. The project seeks to establish a true carpet-to-carpet recycling pathway for polyester carpet, while helping manufacturers meet future recycled-content requirements.

Rhea’s Factory (Berkeley, CA) – $100,000

Rhea’s Factory received funding to validate a novel enzymatic recycling process for mixed PET/PTT carpet fiber, one of the most difficult carpet materials to recycle. Using AI-designed enzymes and advanced pretreatment technologies, the project aims to recover virgin-quality monomers from post-consumer carpet fiber and create a new high-value recycling pathway for materials that currently have limited recycling options.

Rheaply (California-based project) – $50,000

Rheaply was awarded funding to partner with CARE on the development of a carpet tile reuse market infrastructure model. The project will establish data standards, digital workflows, stakeholder engagement processes, and market development tools designed to make carpet tile reuse more visible, credible, and scalable across California.

Cycle 5M Micro Grants for Collection and Reuse were awarded to:

Colusa County – $10,000 to construct a concrete pad, allowing the County to open its only post-consumer carpet (PCC) collection site.

Holly Home Carpets (San Marcos, CA) – $15,000 to install a concrete pad at its existing public collection facility.

Transportek Logistics (Ceres, CA) – $10,800 to purchase a loading ramp that will improve the safe and efficient transfer of PCC to recycling facilities.

See more grant award details here.

Cycle 5M Micro Grants for Collection and Reuse remain open for applications. Eligible organizations are encouraged to learn more and apply at CarpetRecovery.org/Grants.

While Cycle 4 Innovation & Design funding is now closed, additional grant awards may be announced in future e-news editions, as CARE continues to review and finalize funding recommendations.

Learn more at CarpetRecovery.org/Grants

Attention Retailers: Area Rugs Are Covered under the Assessment

Area rugs larger than 11x15 feet (or 165 sq.ft.) are covered under California carpet recycling law AB 863. As such, retailers must charge the current assessment on all rugs (of any fiber) larger than 11x15 feet. At this time, area rugs are not recycled at CARE drop-off sites. CARE recommends you stay abreast of the rug requirement as there may be additional changes in the future.

For complete details on assessment compliance, see the CARE website.

Assessment Changes Coming

On July 17^th, CARE submitted to CalRecycle a revised amendment to the Carpet Stewardship Plan to include a revised differential assessment structure and amount. 

CalRecycle has sixty days to respond. If approved, the proposed assessment changes go into effect on January 1, 2027.

CalRecycle is voluntarily holding a comment period to allow for input from interested parties during the document review process. Submit public comments on CARE's revised plan amendment to Carpet@CalRecycle.ca.gov by Monday, August 3, 2026. 

View the proposed amendment.

Spread the Word: Recycled-Carpet Products Graphic

There are over 132 products made by 32 companies that contain recycled-carpet material.

Research has shown that many people, even those who are directly involved, don’t know that carpet is being recycled into useful new products, including more carpet.

Please help spread the word that carpet is recyclable by sharing this graphic to your social media channels or on your website.

Backstamping Protocol Published

To support California's extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, the carpet industry has adopted a standardized backstamping protocol. This initiative is designed to help recyclers quickly identify material content, improving recovery and processing outcomes.

Manufacturers, or anyone who imports carpet into California, are required to implement back stamping by January 1, 2027.

See the protocol on CARE’s backstamping webpage.

New Drop-off Sites Welcomed

This month CARE welcomes two new drop-off sites in southern California:

• Romanoff Renovations – Bakersfield, Kern County
• Romanoff Renovations – Riverside, Riverside County

CARE currently supports 174 public drop-off sites along with four semi-private sites.

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. 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.

An updated drop-off site map booklet has been published. View it here or contact CA@CarpetRecovery.org to order free copies.

CARE on the Road

CARE CEO Bob Peoples delivered the day one keynote address at the UK Sustainable Flooring Alliance’s annual conference. His presentation “Flooring sustainability: It’s time to learn from the past and move forward into the future” addressed topics including EPR, backstamping, green chemistry and what the flooring industry must do next to accelerate change.

Program Highlights Mailed to Retailers and Installers

CARE’s annual Program Highlights newsletter has been mailed to all retailers and licensed flooring contractors in the state. The newsletter highlights the end market for recycled carpet material, giving details on the over 132 products that contain recycled carpet. Also included are details of the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s progress in 2025, including the fact that 87% of the carpet that CARE collected in 2025 in California was recycled. Other articles describe the carpet assessment, carpet collection opportunities, grants and installer resources.

The goal of the newsletter is to raise stakeholder awareness of the Program’s activities and to spread the word that carpet is currently being recycled into a multitude of useful products in order to encourage more retailers and flooring contractors to recycle tear-out carpet and carpet tile.

View the mailer.

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CARE posts regularly to LinkedIn about the California Program’s progress along with industry developments. Follow us here.

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CarpetRecovery.org/CA