November 2023

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CalRecycle Approves Assessment Increase for January 1, 2024

On November 17, CalRecycle approved the following assessment increase (see table below) to go into effect on January 1, 2024. This increase is necessary to ensure the health of the carpet recycling industry in California and to meet the new reserve funding level required by CalRecycle. CARE formally requested the increase on September 20, 2023.



Retailers are urged to contact their mill representatives for further detail on how the assessment increase will be rolled out to you.

The new levels are:

Compliance with the assessments is compulsory under California law. See the CARE website for details.

California Program Awards More Grants

In October the CARE California Carpet Stewardship Program awarded several new grants across various cycles in an effort to grow post-consumer carpet collection and recycling and increase recycling convenience for the public. The grants total $121,164, and projects will be executed in 2023-24. 

Micro Grants for Collections/Reuse awarded to California sites last month were:

• City Wide Debris Box & Recycling ($15,000) in San Francisco, awarded a new collection container to service two CARE public drop-off sites in the densely populated Bay Area.
• Blue Water Recycling Corp. ($15,000) in Alturas, awarded a weather cover to establish its new CARE public drop-off site. This site also fulfills a convenient collection requirement for Modoc County.
• Washoe Woodfords Community Council ($15,000) in Woodfords, awarded funds to pour a cement pad to establish its new CARE public drop-off site. This site also fulfills a convenient collection requirement for Alpine County.

The Capital Improvement Grant awarded in October went to:

• Western Placer Waste Management Authority ($26,164) in Lincoln, CA, awarded funding to expand its public drop-off site for public convenience as well as establish weather protection against the area’s heavy rains and snow.

CARE may award other Capital Improvement Grants under consideration.

One Product Testing Grant was also awarded last month to:

• Electronic Fix ($50,000) in Tampa, Florida, to conduct research and development on repairing fiber identification devices necessary for post-consumer carpet sorting and recycling operations. The devices that Electronic Fix repairs are no longer manufactured and are necessary for operations until the next generation of devices are fully developed and running smoothly.

Micro Grants for Collections/Reuse (Cycle 5M) remains open to applications through the end of 2023. CARE’s second cycle of Innovation & Design Grants is also open to applicants through February 29, 2024. For more information, please visit the CARE grants webpage or email Abbie Beane, CARE grants manager, at ABeane@CarpetRecovery.org.

CARE Welcomes New Public Drop-Off Sites

CARE welcomes seven new public drop-off sites this month:

• Central Transfer Station, Petaluma, Sonoma County
• CR Transfer and Material Recovery Facility, Stanton, Orange County
• Eastlake Sanitary Landfill, Clearlake, Lake County
• Global Material Resource Services, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County
• Healdsburg Transfer Station, Healdsburg, Sonoma County
• Hung A Lel Ti Woodfords Community Council, Markleeville, Alpine County
• Sonoma Transfer Station, Sonoma, Sonoma County

There are currently 145 CARE public drop-off sites servicing 57 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. 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 collection sites around the state.

CARE Reaching Out to Demolition Companies

CARE staff have been actively reaching out to demolition companies in California and carpet mills across the country in an effort to capture more post-consumer broadloom and carpet tile for reuse and recycling. If you have a lead on a demolition project that could yield carpet for recycling, contact Product and Market Development Manager Rob Thiess.

Carpet Maintenance Article Promoted

CARE’s latest blog is an article about prolonging the life of carpet by good maintenance habits. The article is being distributed to dozens of media outlets across the state to reach consumers that may be undergoing home renovation or otherwise considering their flooring choices.



Read the article here.

RecycleMyCarpet.com Launches

CARE has launched a new micro website that will be useful for consumers. RecycleMyCarpet.com includes information on carpet reuse, donation, maintenance and recycling.

The site aims to increase California residents’ awareness of environmentally preferable end-of-life options for wall-to-wall and carpet tile.

2024 Conference Races to Indianapolis

The 2024 CARE Annual Conference will take place May 7-8, 2024 at the Hilton Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. The theme, Carpet Recycling: Chasing the Checkered Flag, was inspired by the host city’s world-famous event. Registration and more details are coming in January.

Learn more about available sponsorship opportunities!