As a reaction to the Policy Toolkit for Carpet Circularity in EU Member States published by Eunomia on December 4, Zero Waste Europe calls on carpet companies to agree on the vision that by 2025 all commercial and household carpets put on the market should be free of any potentially harmful substance, and should be reusable, separately collected, and fully recyclable.
In order to make this a reality, the sector must phase out hazardous substances and virgin materials, and transition towards safe and healthy components including an increasing rate of recycled or renewable content.
The time is ripe for a Circular Economy for carpets, but this will only happen if a mandatory approach with ambitious policies is adopted. The toolkit proposed by Eunomia provides a range of options that policy-makers can choose from to accelerate circular economy in the carpet sector while, at the same time, helping to achieve the EU waste recycling and landfilling targets.
Zero Waste Europe, DSM-Niaga, Interface and Tarkett support the use of efficient, transparent and well-designed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes as a way to create the necessary incentives to drive this transition, and commit to support them in the countries considering mandatory measures that allow the carpet sector to go circular.
