California The CAREless Carpet Industry: CARPET STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM’S RELIANCE ON INCINERATION A CRITIQUE OF THE BURNING UP VALUABLE RESOURCES

The report argues that California's carpet stewardship program, led by the industry-controlled Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), has failed to meet recycling goals and instead increased the incineration of carpet waste. It contends that incineration—including Waste-to-Energy (WTE), cement kilns, and Carpet as Alternative Fuel (CAAF)—is a wasteful practice that violates the California Public Resources Code's waste management hierarchy. The document highlights significant environmental and health risks, noting that burning carpets containing PVC releases dioxins and unregulated nanoparticles. Financially, it claims WTE is the most expensive energy generation method in the U.S. and can lead to municipal bankruptcy. From a climate perspective, it cites CalRecycle data showing that WTE incineration adds approximately 26,000 metric tons of CO2, whereas recycling saves about 36,000 metric tons. The authors recommend that CalRecycle reject CARE as the stewardship organization and mandate an industry-funded program with enforceable recycling targets.

• The California Carpet Stewardship Program, managed by CARE, failed to meet its initial recycling goal of 16% in its first five years, only increasing the recycling rate from 8% to 10%.
• CARE's revised strategy for 2017-2021 projects that incineration will significantly outpace recycling, with an estimated 34% of discards being burned compared to a 26% recycling goal.
• The use of incineration for carpet waste contravenes the California Public Resources Code §40051, which prioritizes source reduction, recycling, and composting over 'transformation' (incineration) and land disposal.
• Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration is identified as the most expensive form of energy generation in the U.S., with capital costs 60% higher than nuclear power and operating costs ten times higher than coal.
• Burning carpets, particularly those containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), releases hazardous chemicals including dioxin, a proven carcinogen, and unregulated ultra-fine nanoparticles that can cross the blood-brain barrier.
• Trash incinerators produce significantly higher levels of pollutants per unit of energy than coal plants, including 28 times more dioxin and 6-14 times more mercury.
• WTE incineration of carpet poses a higher climate risk than recycling; according to CalRecycle, recycling saves about 36,000 metric tons of CO2 while WTE incineration adds approximately 26,000 metric tons.
• The report argues that the CARE program is flawed because it is funded by consumer fees rather than industry capital, leaving manufacturers like Shaw and Mohawk without financial incentive to improve recycling.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2017). California The CAREless Carpet Industry: CARPET STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM’S RELIANCE ON INCINERATION A CRITIQUE OF THE BURNING UP VALUABLE RESOURCES. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US-Incineration-Report_Full-WEB.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. California The CAREless Carpet Industry: CARPET STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM’S RELIANCE ON INCINERATION A CRITIQUE OF THE BURNING UP VALUABLE RESOURCES. 2017. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US-Incineration-Report_Full-WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=California The CAREless Carpet Industry: CARPET STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM’S RELIANCE ON INCINERATION A CRITIQUE OF THE BURNING UP VALUABLE RESOURCES |date=April 2017 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US-Incineration-Report_Full-WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2017california, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{California The CAREless Carpet Industry: CARPET STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM’S RELIANCE ON INCINERATION A CRITIQUE OF THE BURNING UP VALUABLE RESOURCES}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US-Incineration-Report_Full-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }