How to Recycle Your Old Carpet

By Sandy

Posted on Monday, November 13, 2017 6:51 AM

How To Recycle Your Old Carpet

If you want to recycle your carpet, you may have to do a little legwork of your own. While most retailers will charge you for the removal of old carpet, it may not actually make it to a recycling center.

The good news is that there are a number of way to recycle your old carpet. Here are some tips:  

Recycle

There are recycling centers around the country that will take your old carpet where it can be processed in a number of building materials such as insulation or roofing tiles. Carpet recycling facilities can be found through the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE):  https://carpetrecovery.org/recovery-effort/collector-finder-map/

Donate it

If the carpet is not in too bad shape, you might be able to donate it.

Some organizations like Goodwill are happy to repurpose your gently used carpet – plus you could get a tax credit for your donation.

Or, check out Freecycle, a website where you can list your free offer for the taking. (Craig's List also has a "free" section.)

You could also offer it to a local animal shelter where it is often used to line pet cages.

FYI – Flooring retailers often donate discontinued showroom samples to local schools for children to use as “reading mats.”

Repurpose it yourself

Carpet, even worn and matted carpet, can be put to use in a lot of creative ways around the house. Save some of the better pieces for use as insulation in dog houses, around pipes, in attics, basements and garages, or you can use it to make cat scratch pads. There are lots of creative uses for old carpet, including using it in the garden as a comfortable pad to work on or as ground cover under gravel walkways to prevent weeds from growing through.

Tell us your creative carpet recycling stories and we’ll share them with our readers!

- Sandy