CARE California Shows Gains in Carpet Reuse

DALTON, GA – Since the passage of California’s first carpet stewardship law in 2010, the Carpet America Recovery Effort has collected, transported, reused, recycled and processed post-consumer carpet, improving environmental outcomes and advancing a circular economy for carpet.

On September 1, CARE submitted the California Carpet Stewardship Program’s 2025 Annual Report to CalRecycle, describing the Program’s activities and progress. 

2025 Accomplishments Include:

• Unmatched Recycling Rate: The recycling rate for carpet reached 37%, a level not matched anywhere in the world.

• Carpet Kept out of Landfill: The Program collected 78.5 million pounds of carpet, enough to cover over 3,000 football fields. 86% of the carpet collected was recycled.

• Reuse Soars: 3.5 million pounds of carpet was sent for reuse, more than four times the amount in 2021. CARE worked directly with large commercial end users, architectural & design firms and general contractors to integrate reuse into active renovation and construction projects.

• Growing Collection Network: The Program continued to serve all 58 California counties, adding 15 new drop-off sites, for a total of 174 public drop-off sites at the end of 2025.

• Grants Fuel Innovation and Growth: CARE awarded $1.77 million in new grant funds in 2025 for Capital Improvement, Product Testing, Micro-Grants and Innovation & Design grants.

“We are pleased to see these results despite the global economic headwinds experienced across all recycling sectors,” said CARE Executive Director and CEO Bob Peoples. “CARE is building 16 years of experience working with recyclers, retailers, manufacturers and NGOs to achieve meaningful progress in our new 5-year Plan. Our focus is building a robust circular economy for carpet.”

CARE will present a public workshop on the 2025 Annual Report on Wednesday, September 23 at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is a voluntary, non-profit organization that works to advance and facilitate the reuse and recycling of post-consumer carpet, support a robust circular economy, and advocate for future recyclability of carpet.

CARE administers the California Carpet Stewardship Program, which is charged with meeting the requirements for carpet recycling set by the California law, whose purpose is to increase the diversion and recycling of carpet in the state of California.

Since 2002, CARE members have diverted more than 5.5 billion pounds of carpet from landfills in the United States and promoted the use and development of products containing materials derived from carpet. CARE members include independent carpet recyclers, carpet manufacturers, dealers, retailers and suppliers, and non-governmental organizations.

For more information, visit CarpetRecovery.org