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Innovation
(chemical molecules), their role in the prod-
uct and any health or environmental risks in
case of exposure to the substances used.
Following an in-depth lifecycle analysis,
the MHS is verified by the Environmental
Protection Encouragement Agency estab-
lished by cradle-to-cradle innovator Dr Mi-
chael Braungart.
‘We are delighted to help Tarkett with the
last mile of its journey to close the loop on
carpet tile production,’ says Aquafil ceo Giulio
Bonazzi. ‘It is clear we have to transform the
way products are designed and consumed.
Through our partnership with Tarkett, we
will boost the reutilisation of yarns and help
to design out waste.’
Aquafil already recycles around 40% of all
carpet waste in Europe. ‘On top of that, we
now have close to 1 000 partnerships with pre-
mium fashion brands,’ Bonazzi adds.
The right recipe
All this may suggest Bonazzi’s idea got off
to an easy start. ‘It really wasn’t,’ the entrepre-
neur recalls with a laugh. Capet materials are
tricky, he concedes, ‘Especially the old stuff
that wasn’t made with sustainability in mind.
It’s kind of like separating eggs and sugar from
a cake you’ve just baked. Recycling carpets is
a little bit of a miracle.’
That’s exactly the reaction the yarn spe-
cialist got when meeting a banker to pitch his
idea in 2008. ‘I was talking to one of the top
five banks in Belgium. While my excitement
was growing as I was telling him about my
carpet recycling plans, he looked at me as if I
was crazy. He shook his head when I told him
this was going to be a goldmine one day. He
promptly left the room, saying: “I will not give
you one penny!” Not a lot of people back then
wanted to take the risk. Turns out, I wasn’t so
crazy after all.’
Bonazzi adds: ‘Our pilot plant in Slovenia
had a capacity of around 10 000 tonnes per
year when we started a decade or so ago. This
has grown to 40 000 tonnes per year. I’d say, on
the whole, our facilities process around 130
000 tonnes of material per year now.’ The Ital-
ian says he can’t wait to scale up and reach the
next phase. ‘We have a big appetite for carpet
recycling. But we need more input.’
Bonazzi puts the worldwide carpet man-
ufacturing capacity at roughly 10 million
tonnes per year. ‘You would think it is easy
to feed the plant, right? Well, trust me, it is a
challenge. People have still to wake up to the
reality of carpet recycling. But our appetite is
growing. We are ready.’
Author:
Kirstin Linnenkoper
60-61_research-carpetrecycling.indd 61 09-09-20 14:30
