Product Stewardship and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

Carpet Stewardship Program

California is the first state to establish a private-sector designed and managed statewide carpet stewardship program. This program follows producer responsibility principles to ensure that discarded carpets become a resource for new products in a manner that is sustainably funded and provides jobs for Californians. This page provides information on the carpet stewardship law (Chapter 681, Statutes of 2010 [Perez, AB 2398]) and its implementation.

• Introduction
• Law
• Carpet Stewardship Program
• Stewardship Organization or Individual Manufacturer Registration
• Rulemaking
• Buying Carpet
• Listserv
• Resources

Introduction to California's Carpet Stewardship Law

Discarded carpet is one of the 10 most prevalent waste materials in California landfills, equaling 3.2 percent of waste by volume disposed of in California in 2008. Most carpet is made from nylon and other polymers derived from virgin oil. Fortunately, numerous products can be manufactured from recycled carpets, including carpet backing and backing components, carpet fiber, carpet underlayment, plastics and engineered materials, and erosion control products. Several carpet recycling facilities currently operate in California, offering jobs, and producing products and feedstock for products made from recycled carpet.

What the Law Requires

Chapter 681, Statutes of 2010 (Perez, AB 2398) sets forth the requirements of the statewide Carpet Stewardship Program. Below are basic descriptions. Refer to the law for complete information.

Key Elements of the law

Purpose: Carpet product stewardship is to increase the amount of postconsumer carpet that is diverted from landfills and recycled into secondary products or otherwise managed in a manner that is consistent with the state’s hierarchy for waste management to promote the following waste management practices in order of priority:

• Source reduction
• Recycling and composting
• Environmentally safe transformation and environmentally safe land disposal

Definitions:

• “Carpet” means a manufactured article that is used in commercial or residential building affixed or placed on the floor or building walking surface as a decorative or functional building interior feature and this is primarily constructed of a top visible surface of synthetic face fibers or yarns or tufts attached to a backing system derived from synthetic or natural materials. It includes broadloom and carpet tiles; it does not include a rug, pad, cushion, or underlayment.
• Also, see a letter (PDF, 61 KB) from the author of AB 2398 regarding the definition of "carpet".
• “Department” means the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
• "CARE" means Carpet America Recovery Effort, a third-party nonprofit carpet stewardship organization.

See the law for more definitions.

Key roles: In very basic terms, manufacturers (either individually or through their stewardship organization) design their own stewardship program: they prepare and implement a plan to reach certain goals, and report on their progress. CalRecycle approves plans, checks progress, and provides oversight and enforcement to ensure a level playing field among carpet manufacturers. Other service providers participate in the management system as negotiated.

Stewardship Plans: The stewardship plan plays a very important role in the program because it defines a program that is in compliance with the law and communicates a course of action to stakeholders and the public. CalRecycle-approved plans will be posted at this website, along with ensuing annual reports. Plans must include information on:

• How the plan will achieve the purpose;
• Goals that increase recycling of postconsumer carpet and increase diversion of postconsumer carpets from landfills, increase the recyclability of carpets, and incentivize the market growth of products made from postconsumer carpet;
• How the plan is consistent with the state’s sold waste management hierarchy;
• Funding that is sufficient to carry out the plan, including administrative, operational, and capital costs, and payment of fees and incentive payments to cover costs of services provided;
• Education and outreach efforts; and
• Process for independent audits.

See the Carpet Stewardship Program for additional information on stewardship plans.

Financing: A unique and very important aspect of carpet stewardship is long-term, sustainable funding. There are two phases to funding outlined in AB 2398. There is an initial period, July 1, 2011 to January 1, 2013, where manufacturers will assess five cents ($0.05) per square yard that can only be used for early action measures that are consistent with the purpose and designed to achieve measureable improvement in landfill diversion and recycling of postconsumer carpet. After January 1, 2013, manufacturers shall add an assessment to the purchase price of carpet that is approved by CalRecycle. The amount of the assessment shall be sufficient to meet, but not exceed, the anticipated cost of carrying out the plan.

Enforcement and Compliance: Maintaining a level playing field among manufacturers is addressed through a combination of civil penalties for non-compliance and transparency that allows all stakeholders and the public to evaluate progress. For manufacturers to be in compliance, they must have an approved plan and demonstrate achievement of continuous and meaningful improvement in the rates of recycling and other goals included in an organization’s plan.

Reporting: Annual reports will be posted at the CalRecycle website. These reports shall include information on amounts of carpet sold, postconsumer carpet recycled, ultimate disposition of collected carpets, program costs, an evaluation of performance and how to improve it, and examples of educational materials.

Key Implementation Dates: Carpet Stewardship Program

Date	Activity
July 1, 2011-January 1, 2013	Assessment paid to Stewardship Organization: Manufacturer of carpet shall add a carpet stewardship assessment of five cents ($0.05) per square yard to the purchase price.
September 30, 2011	Submit Plan: Manufacturer (individually or through stewardship organization) submits a plan to CalRecycle.
November 29, 2011 or 60 days after received	Comment and Negotiate Plan: Date by which CalRecycle must approve or comment on plan.
March 31, 2012	Deadline for Plan Approval: A plan that is not approved by this date is out of compliance.
April 1, 2012	Subject to Penalties: A manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer that offers a carpet for sale not covered under a plan is subject to penalties.
July 1, 2012, and not later than January 1 and July 1 annually (6 month updates)	Notice Regarding Compliant Manufacturers: CalRecycle posts a notice on its website of manufacturers that are in compliance.
July 1, 2012 - July 1, 2014 (annually)	Payment to CalRecycle: Carpet stewardship organization shall pay CalRecycle the administrative fee to cover the costs of its service.
January 1, 2013	Adjusted Assessment Paid to Stewardship Organization: Stewardship assessment per unit of carpet sold shall be remitted to the carpet stewardship organization on a quarterly basis and the carpet stewardship organization may expend the assessment only to carry out the plan. CalRecycle approves amount.
July 1, 2012 (Jan. 1 and July 1 thereafter)	List of Compliant Manufacturers:  CalRecycle shall post a list of manufacturers that are in compliance at its website.
July 1, 2013 (Annual thereafter)	Submit annual report: Stewardship organization demonstrates to CalRecycle that it has achieved continuous meaningful improvement in the rates of recycling and diversion of postconsumer carpet subject to its stewardship plan and in meeting the other goals included in the organization’s plan.
January 1, 2014	CalRecycle and Department of General Services (DGS) prepare report on specifications and standards: CalRecycle and DGS shall complete a study that examines the specifications for carpet purchases by the state and recommendation for any appropriate changes to that standard.
April 1, 2015	Other carpet stewardship organizations, besides CARE, may operate and submit plans to CalRecycle.
May 30, 2015 or 60 days after received	Approve Plans: CalRecycle shall review and approve or not approve the revised plan within 60 days after receipt.
July 1, 2015 (annually)	Payment to CalRecycle: Carpet stewardship organization(s) shall pay CalRecycle an administrative fee to cover the cost of its service that may not exceed 5 percent of the aggregate assessment collected.

In addition to activities and dates identified in AB 2398, there are associated activities:

• Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) MOU process: The goals established through this process serve as a floor for California goals.
• California rulemaking on assessments and civil penalty ranges: CalRecycle must use a rulemaking process to establish procedures such as approving assessments and to establish a range of civil penalties that will streamline implementation.

Carpet Stewardship Program: Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) will serve as the carpet stewardship organization at least until April 1, 2015. At that time other stewardship organizations may submit plans. Individual manufacturers can submit plans as well throughout. Program information includes the following topics added as they become available:

• Stewardship Plans (Submitted)
  • California Carpet Stewardship Plan (PDF 1.3 MB) (submitted Dec. 12, 2011)
  • California Carpet Stewardship Plan (PDF 1.9 MB) (submitted Oct. 28, 2011)
  • California Carpet Stewardship Plan (PDF, 1.1 MB) (submitted Sept. 30, 2011)
    • CalRecycle prepares formal comments on the document (Nov.-Dec. 2011)
  • Also see CARE website
• Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, CalRecycle prepared these documents concerning the Carpet Stewardship Plan submitted in December 2011. Comments are due by January 16, 2012 as noted in the Notice.
  • Negative Declaration and Initial Study Evaluating the Adoption of the California Carpet Stewardship Plan (PDF, 303 KB)
  • Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Notice) (PDF, 633 KB)
• Collection sites
  • CARE map of collection/processing facilities in the U.S. with information on each state (note that it does not include all collection sites such as where old carpet is collected in trailers and then delivered to the facilities)
  • Also, CalRecycle has a database of facilities that collect specific types of construction and demolition debris for reuse or recycling, including carpet (check here for directions on adding a facility to this database).
• Education
• Annual Reports
• List of Compliant Manufacturers
• Enforcement

Visit Care's website for information on the implementation of AB2398 and Frequently Asked Questions.

Buying Environmentally Preferable Carpet

The Department of General Services, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Best Practices Manual has a chapter on purchasing carpet. The State Administrative Manual states that all carpet purchased by California state agencies shall meet the NSF/American National Standards Institute 140-2007 (NSF/ANSI 140-2007) standard at its Platinum level. Details can be found in the revised DGS Management Memo (PDF, 28 KB) 10-01 (December 2009).

To find carpet that meets the NSF/ANSI 140-2007 standard, visit the visit The Carpet and Rug Institute’s database . The list can be sorted to show all products certified at the Platinum level, by all certifiers.

NSF 140 was designed to establish a system with varying levels of certification to define sustainable carpet. Details can be found in the NSF 140-2007 carpet standard fact sheet (PDF, 80 KB).

Listserv

Subscribe to the CalRecycle Carpet Product Stewardship listserv to receive periodic e-mail updates specific to CalRecycle-related implementation activities.

Endnote

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. CalRecycle does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of CalRecycle.