Carpet recycling profitability

In America there are promising signs for certain polymers. For example, poly(ethylene terephthalate) drinks bottles can be cleaned and recycled to give an acceptable grade of PET resin in a process that is economically viable. The recycled polymer is used as carpet fibre, furniture stuffing, or insulation. Waste nylon can also be recycled profitably. 

It is clear from Cases 1 and 2 that carpet recycling of small fractions of the material stream is unlikely to be profitable under any circumstances. In Case 1, if the... 

Nylon generally performs the best among all synthetic fibers as carpet face yarn, but it is also the most expensive. Typical price per kilogram for the plastic resins are nylon 2.50, polyester 1.20, and polypropylene 0.75. This price list provides a perspective on the economics of recycling as well. For example, if it takes the same processing effort to convert the fiber into resin, an operation on nylon would be most profitable. This also explains why most of the recycling effort is on nylon recovery. 

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