Housing in Southern Africa September 2015

Doors, Windows, Floors & Walls

‘Green’ carpet In a radical move to increase sustainability in the global carpet industry, recycled automobile windscreen glass is nowbeing used as manufacturing rawmaterial by Interface, the world’s largest modular flooring producer.

T he new windscreen recycling initiative follows a series of ma- jor sustainability milestones achieved by Interface since its found- er and chairman, Ray Anderson, in 1996 put the company on a Mission Zero journey to become the world’s first sustainable restorative carpet producer by 2020. Measures already introduced by the company include production driven by biogas derived from chocolate and fish waste, con- verting old fishing nets into yarn, and using castor beans to reduce the company’s dependency on oil for carpet production. Interface flooring has its main production plant in the Netherlands and is locally distributed by the Kevin Bates Albert Carpets (KBAC) group. Lesley Fidrmuc, Interface Consul- tant for KBAC, says there are over a billion cars in the world of which at least 5 to 6% have windscreens replaced annually. “The European Union has been pushing for the recycling of these windscreens and now the laminate material, called Poly Vinyl Butral (PVB), that prevents the windows from shattering, has been given a second life. Interface is collaborating with several European partners to create a new supply chain of recycled glass which the company is now using as replacement for its existing latex carpet precoat, reduc- ing the production carbon footprint by 0.7kg of carbon dioxide per square metre, equivalent to an 80% reduc- tion. The precoat is a key component of carpet as it keeps the yarn stuck to the backing,” Fidrmuc explained. Several innovative recycling devel- opments have led to the availability of the PVB dispersion now used by Interface as a replacement for latex at its plant at Scherpenzeel. “The windscreens are sent to glass re- cycling facilities in Belgium and Germany where the glass is

with patented technologies by a Bel- gian company with which Interface has partnered over the past seven years to develop a substitute for latex in carpet. Finally, another Interface supplier - withwhich Interface has an exclusivity agreement - compounds the PVBdispersion tomake it suitable as latex substitute. The dry, applied PVB precoat contains 70% recycled material.” Fidrmuc says Interface has access to up to 200 000 tons of recycled PVB per year. “The use of PVB in- stead of latex provides consumers with an infinitely more sustainable form of carpet. PVB resin is a non- toxic, non-corrosive product with exceptional tensile strength, adhe- sion and elasticity. It is also impact resistant. Although there are other carpet manufacturers that use virgin PVB for backing purposes, Interface is the first company in the world to introduce a carpet with a recycled PVB precoat. “Interface has incorporated its passion for ecological preservation in all its new carpet tile designs which KBAC distributes in South Africa. The latest biophilic designs create visual and physical connections with nature, using foliage, the sky, rivers, the sea, as well as other aspects of nature as dominant features. Local response has been exceptionally positive as architects and designers are now increasingly striving towards sustainable, responsible construc- tion and interiors,” she adds. Brandon Park, Sales Director of KBAC, says Interface has since the be-

ginning of 2014 been operating with 100% renewable energy in Europe (both electricity and gas), using vir- tually no water in its manufacturing processes and hasmanaged to attain zerowaste to landfill. “This is particu- larly significant as carpets contain a high oil content in the nylon fibres and thus become non-biodegradable landfill components,” he explains. Park says Interface Europe had by last year reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 90%. “From a base of zero renewable energy in produc- tion in 1996, the company now uses a staggering 95% renewable en- ergy. Greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 90% since 1996. Other major ‘green’ initiatives introduced by Interface include the insulation of hot machine parts, installation of high efficiency boilers, and lower temperature materials,” he adds. ■

separated from the PVB and other materials using a se- ries of advanced separa-

tion techniques. Next the PVB is purified

September 2015