At Arbor Contract Carpet, we’re serious about reducing our impact on the Earth. You’ll see it in the eco-friendly products and services we offer our customers, as well as in the way we go about our daily work lives. For example, our company was one of the first in the industry to introduce a 100% recyclable carpet line to the multi-housing world. Our Infinity Collection is comprised of Nylon 6 carpet fibers that can be made into new carpet again and again—true “cradle-to-cradle” recycling. We carry through with our initiative by offering convenient carpet reclamation services for all carpets to help ensure used carpet never ends up in the landfill. While carpets made of fibers other than Nylon 6 are not entirely recyclable, Arbor Carpet actively researches other methods to divert this carpet from landfills. For example, we’ve found ways to convert Type 6,6 fibers into auto parts and polypropylene fibers into pipes for septic tanks.

Since 2002, we’ve partnered with Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) to fulfill our reclamation program. CARE is a joint industry-government effort geared toward increasing the amount of recycling of post-consumer carpet and reducing the amount of waste carpet in landfills. Through this partnership, Arbor has diverted 70 million pounds (35,000 tons) of carpet fiber from landfills in its Colorado, Texas and Florida markets. That equates to saving:

7.7 million gallons of oil

175 billion BTUs of natural gas

51 million KWH of electricity = power to run 4,813 average American homes

While the reclamation and recycling of carpet is our major initiative, we carry our green thinking throughout every facet of our business.

We recycle all carpet padding and carpet tubes when possible.

We use low VOC adhesives during carpet installation.

Our patented Smart Floor cuts down on the amount of carpet needed in certain installations.

Instead of using a petrochemical-based sealer, we use Liquid Live Bacteria. It’s a safe, non-toxic, non-acid, non-alkaline, enzyme-producing grease and oil digestant that is more effective and benign to the environment in neutralizing organic waste.

We used many sustainable products in the build-out of our Denver office space, including a renewable linoleum entryway, recyclable carpet tiles, cork, ceramic tiles with recycled content—even a pool table has been reclaimed for use as our conference table.

We use a water filtration system instead of bottled water.

We continue to value and explore eco-friendly practices through participation in the US Green Build Council and its conferences, as well as the CARE network.

More than a current trend, our green mission emerged years ago from the desire of our founder and owner, Paul Devereux, to help divert the 5 billion-plus pounds of carpet dumped in landfills each year. In 1999, before the formation of CARE, Devereux began collecting post-consumer carpet for recycling (see attached timeline). Since then, he’s continued to lead the way in exploring methods of recycling post-consumer carpet and incorporating his findings into the business practices at Arbor. In fact, Devereux also founded Natural Transitions, a sister company of Arbor Carpet, that is the largest carpet recycling center in the nation. Natural Transitions picks up any type of carpet, recycles every component that can be, and tries to find other uses for the non-recyclable components.

To continue reducing the footprint of Arbor Carpet and our clients, we hope to accomplish the following in the next five years:

Close the loop on hard surfaces—there are certain vinyl products that are recyclable but no one is offering recycling services for these.

Work with LEED groups to institute proper credits for builders using environmentally friendly flooring.

Continue to invest in equipment that reduces our use of fossil fuels—like our forklift that produces 70% less smog-forming emissions, as well as a carpet-cutting machine with a staging system to dramatically reduce runtime and emissions.

Give customers the option of online invoicing, ordering and account management to improve efficiency and save on paper.