Aquafil Group buys Carpet Recycler Planet Recycling
Date: November 19, 2020
Source: Aquafil Group
Aquafil Group, the US division of Italian-based Aquafil Global is buying Planet Recycling Inc. (Phoenix, AZ). Aquafil produces nylon yarns used in carpeting and textiles and recycles used material. The company has two carpet recycling facilities in Phoenix, AZ and Woodland, CA which collectively recycle 18,000 tons of carpet annually. Planet Recycling recovers over 10,000 tons of post-consumer carpet collected from Phoenix and San Diego, CA at its Phoenix facility. Aquafil expects the acquisition to help create a more stable supply of nylon waste for its regeneration plant in Slovenia where carpet waste and other materials such as fishing nets and other types of nylon waste are regenerated into ECONYL yarns and polymers. It also contributes to a closed-loop system that seeks to reduce the two million tons of waste carpet destined for U.S. landfills each year of which only five percent is currently being recycled.
PRESS RELEASE
Closing The Loop In The Carpet Sector: Planet Recycling Inc. Will Join Aquafil To Strengthen Its Circular Economy Strategy
Cartersville, GA, November 19, 2020 - Aquafil Group is pleased to announce that Planet Recycling Inc. carpet collections network will join Aquafil Group's journey to the circular economy in mid-December 2020.
Planet Recycling, Inc., based in Phoenix, Arizona, has been an industry leader in recycling residential and commercial carpet waste and carpet pad materials for more than 35 years. The company has products and services including flooring waste management, carpet recycling and installation supplies. Planet Recycling diverts over 10,000 tons of post-consumer carpet and carpet pad from Phoenix Valley's and San Diego county's landfills each year. The company's existing collection facilities will enhance the availability of used carpet material for the Aquafil carpet recycling facility in Phoenix and will also create a stable quantity of nylon waste to be supplied to the regeneration plant in Slovenia where carpet waste and other materials such as fishing nets and other types of nylon waste are regenerated to make ECONYL® yarns and polymers.
Each year in the U.S. four billion pounds of carpet is discarded in landfills and only five percent of carpet waste is recycled. Aquafil Group is committed to help reduce this waste by implementing a closed-loop supply chain where carpets are recycled instead of ending up in landfills. "If all carpets were made of nylon 6, we could recycle them all efficiently and with minimal cost in order to create a fully circular supply chain for carpet materials," said Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil Group President and Chief Executive Officer. "The integration of Planet Recycling business is a big component of the company's long-term strategy and will ultimately increase the use of recycled carpet materials to be used by Aquafil customers across the globe to create new sustainably made products.
Aquafil has two carpet recycling facilities, one in Phoenix, Arizona, and one in Woodland, California, that can each process up to 36 million pounds of carpet annually which is equal to the total weight of 27 Airbus A380 planes.
"The combination of Aquafil and Planet Recycling's expertise enables us to create a unique carpet recycling loop across the entire supply chain from collection to recycling and fiber manufacturing," said Franco Rossi, President of Aquafil USA.
"We are thrilled to continue our journey to build a circular supply chain with a company that has also invested in solutions to help preserve our planet for the last several decades," said Rachel Palopoli, part of the family that founded and operates Planet Recycling. Palopoli will direct the new Aquafil Carpet Recycling collection point to increase used carpet collection both in Arizona and California.
ABOUT AQUAFIL
Since 1965, Aquafil has been one of the leading players, both in Italy and globally, in the production of polyamide 6 (nylon 6). The Aquafil Group has a presence in seven countries on three continents, employing more than 2,900 staff at 16 plants located in Italy, Scotland, Slovenia, Croatia, the USA, Thailand, and China. To learn more about the company, please visit: www.aquafil.com.
Media Contact:
Jacqueline Chen Valencia
CONNECTIVE Agency
jacq@connectiveagency.com
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