Unter den Teppich gekehrt

The report argues that the European carpet industry is far from achieving a circular economy, with the vast majority of carpets in Germany being incinerated and 60% in Europe being landfilled. Despite the public sustainability branding of market leaders Desso and Interface, the study finds that these companies recover only 1.5% to 3% of the carpets they place on the market. The document identifies structural barriers, including poor eco-design, a lack of comprehensive collection systems, and an overcapacity of waste incineration plants in Germany, which creates financial incentives to burn recyclable materials. It recommends the introduction of extended producer responsibility, a waste incineration tax, and mandatory recycling quotas to shift the industry toward genuine material recovery.

• In Germany, nearly all discarded carpets are incinerated, while across Europe, approximately 60% are landfilled and the remainder are mostly incinerated.
• There is a significant discrepancy between the sustainability goals of industry leaders Desso and Interface and their actual performance; their take-back and recycling rates are estimated to be only between 1.5% and 3% of the carpets they put on the market.
• Germany faces an overcapacity in the treatment of municipal and commercial waste totaling 2 million tonnes, which lowers disposal prices and creates perverse incentives to incinerate recyclable products like carpets.
• The report estimates that less than 3% of old carpets in the EU are recycled, and the term 'recycling' is often misused by the industry to describe downcycling or even 'thermal recovery' (incineration).
• The incineration of carpets, particularly those containing PVC, releases hazardous substances such as dioxins, which are carcinogenic, and other pollutants like mercury and lead.
• The 'Heizwertklausel' (heating value clause), which equated the incineration of high-calorie waste with recycling, was a mistake that led to the mass burning of recyclable waste; its removal as of June 1, 2017, is expected to divert 80,000 tonnes of bulky waste and old tires annually toward recycling.
• Current carpet design often hinders recycling because materials in the backing are mixed and cannot be separated, and the use of mixed fibers (e.g., Nylon 6 and wool) prevents the material from being recycled for its original purpose, allowing only downcycling.
• The report highlights that the largest recycling plant for nylon in Europe, located in Slovenia, only produces between 11,000 and 20,000 tonnes of recycled nylon annually, which is only 7% to 13% of the amount needed for European carpet production.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2017). Unter den Teppich gekehrt. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/German-Report-Unter-den-Teppich-gekehrt.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Unter den Teppich gekehrt. 2017. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/German-Report-Unter-den-Teppich-gekehrt.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Unter den Teppich gekehrt |date=February 2017 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/German-Report-Unter-den-Teppich-gekehrt.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2017unter, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Unter den Teppich gekehrt}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/German-Report-Unter-den-Teppich-gekehrt.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }