Disposal fees on a recent job have me re-evaluating our carpet choices.

I just finished a hotel lobby update. The waste management company hit us with a large fee for the old carpet. They said it's because synthetic carpets are hard to process. I found out that some manufacturers now make carpets from recycled bottles. These products are durable and better for the environment. We should consider these options to avoid future fees. It's a simple switch that makes sense for everyone.

4 comments

4 Comments

adamwebb1mo ago

What did the waste company say about recycling options for the old carpet? I ran into this on a retail job and switched to carpet tiles with high recycled content. The maker had a free take-back program that processed the old material into new products. It totally avoided those surprise fees at the end.

the_elizabeth1mo ago

Yeah, @adamwebb, those surprise fees are the worst. I found a nonprofit that takes old carpet for free and turns it into insulation.

zarat381mo ago

Check the material specs early in the design phase (some list recycling info right there). It saved us a headache on the last bid when we spotted the potential disposal cost upfront.

troy_price10d ago

Is this really a big enough problem to change what we buy? Those fees are annoying, but they're just a cost of doing business. I've seen a lot of "green" products come and go, and half the time they cost more up front anyway. Maybe the disposal fee is cheaper than switching everything over.