NICHE MARKET
33recyclinginternational.com | January/February | 2020
great detail the composition of a
product as well as ingredient concen-
trations (chemical molecules), their
role in the product and any health or
environmental risks in case of expo-
sure to the substances used.
Following an in-depth lifecycle analy-
sis, the MHS is verified by the
Environmental Protection
Encouragement Agency established
by cradle-to-cradle innovator Dr
Michael 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 prod-
ucts 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 premium 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
entrepreneur 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
specialist 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 Italian 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
manufacturing 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.’
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