Smoke and Mirrors: Exposing the Reality of Carpet Recycling in the UK

The document examines the UK carpet waste stream, asserting that the voluntary industry body Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) has engaged in greenwashing by relying on incineration and downcycling rather than carpet-to-carpet recycling. It highlights that while landfill diversion rose to 44% by 2018, the majority of this is achieved through incineration, which carries significant climate and health costs. The authors call for the UK government to implement mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to drive genuine circularity.

• The UK generates a substantial amount of carpet waste, with an estimated 400,000 tonnes discarded annually, which is roughly equivalent to 256 million m2.
• Although Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) reports that landfill diversion increased from 2% in 2007 to 44% in 2018, 73% of this overall recovery is achieved through incineration.
• Actual recycling and reuse rates for diverted carpet are low: 22% is downcycled into equestrian products, 2% is plastic recovery, 2% is fibre recovery, and only 1% is reused.
• The climate impact of CO2 emissions from burning carpets in the UK was estimated to cost society £16.5 million in 2019.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2019). Smoke and Mirrors: Exposing the Reality of Carpet Recycling in the UK. https://changingmarkets.org/report/smoke-and-mirrors-exposing-the-reality-of-carpet-recycling-in-the-uk/

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Smoke and Mirrors: Exposing the Reality of Carpet Recycling in the UK. 2019. https://changingmarkets.org/report/smoke-and-mirrors-exposing-the-reality-of-carpet-recycling-in-the-uk/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Smoke and Mirrors: Exposing the Reality of Carpet Recycling in the UK |date=27 November 2019 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/report/smoke-and-mirrors-exposing-the-reality-of-carpet-recycling-in-the-uk/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2019smoke, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Smoke and Mirrors: Exposing the Reality of Carpet Recycling in the UK}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/report/smoke-and-mirrors-exposing-the-reality-of-carpet-recycling-in-the-uk/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }