Carpet Waste and Composition

Because about 70% of the carpet produced is for replacing old carpet, it is important to understand the amount and types of carpet produced. Using the typical life of a carpet of 5-10 years, one can estimate the amount of carpet being disposed of currently and to be disposed of in the next few years. According to carpet industry statistics [14], the total fiber consumption in 1999 was about 1.7 million tons nylon 57%, olefin 36%, polyester 7%, and wool 0.4%. Among the nylon face fiber, about 40% is nylon 6 and 60% is nylon 6,6. In recent years, the use of polypropylene (labeled as polyolefin or olefin) in carpet is increasing, as tabulated in Table 16.2 [15]. Based on the aforementioned data, one expects the current rate of carpet disposal to be about 2 million tons 

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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