In California, Carpet Can Be Recycled!
Old carpet can be recycled into useful new products when brought to the right place. Learn how to recycle carpet below.
Make it last.
Carpeting homes can be a big upfront expense. Taking good care of your carpet over time will make it last longer and help you to get the most from your investment. See our tips on proper cleaning and maintenance.
Other Uses for Old Carpet
Reuse it around the house – Old carpet, especially carpet tiles, is useful in laundry rooms, garages, pet pens and other areas. Use carpet squares as pads to prevent furniture from sliding.
Donate it – Your discarded carpet in good condition could be someone else’s treasure. Contact local thrift stores or community groups. List your old carpet with a service like Freecycle or Nextdoor and help your neighbor.
Recycle it! Ask your floor covering installer or retailer to help you get the carpet to a drop-off site, where the carpet will be collected, processed and made into useful new products.
How to Recycle Carpet
Ask your contractor or flooring installer to recycle your old carpet. Recycling keeps carpet out of landfills while the old carpet gets turned into useful new products like insulation, construction siding and even automotive parts!
Carpet must be dry and free of debris in order to be recycled. Roll, stack or fold carpet pad separately from carpet. Note: Area rugs are not included in this Program and cannot be recycled at CARE drop-off sites.
Where to Take Old Carpet in California
There are over 130 drop-off sites in California! See our map of drop-off sites with details on location, hours and fees. Some sites offer discounts or no fee at all for carpet prepared for recycling.
What Happens to Old Carpet?
Used post-consumer carpet is recycled by processors into fibers or plastic pellets, which can be used to make a broad range of products, including carpet, carpet tiles, carpet underlayment, and products for the automotive, transportation and construction industries
About Us
When buying carpet, you pay the carpet assessment that is required by California law. These funds support carpet recycling in the state, which in recent years has shown tremendous progress.
Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the landfill diversion, reuse, and recycling of waste carpet through market-based solutions that benefit the economy as well as the environment. CARE is in charge of implementing the California Carpet Stewardship Program as required by California law AB 2398. CARE members include independent carpet recyclers, carpet manufacturers, dealers, retailers and suppliers and non-governmental organizations.