LOS ANGELES—Bentley Prince Street has just moved a few steps closer to “closing the loop” entirely on its products through the introduction of new backing technologies for both its broadloom and carpet tile products. Both High PerformancePC, the company’s new standard broadloom backing, and SelectRC, its new standard hard-back carpet tile backing, incorporate recycled and reprocessed carpet backing into new carpet backing. All manufacturing processes for both backings are performed in the company’s California headquarters, eliminating the need for, and associated environmental impacts of, additional transportation.
“Through these new backings, as well as the introduction of our first product using post-consumer recycled content yarn, we’re getting closer to ‘closing the technical loop’ on both the front and back of our products,” said Anthony Minite, president of Bentley Prince Street. “Not only do these new sustainable manufacturing processes keep materials out of landfills, they also help reduce our dependence on petroleum and other virgin raw materials. These technical innovations lower the embodied energy of our products, so we’re using less energy and oil—while keeping our stringent performance standards.
“Ultimately, our goal is to reuse everything that goes into our products from existing materials,” Minite added. “While we’re not there yet, this is an important milestone in our journey to becoming a completely sustainable enterprise by the year 2020.”
Next Generation Thermoplastic Technology
SelectRC backing uses next generation thermoplastic technology to keep reclaimed and waste carpet backing in the technical loop and increase its use of recycled content materials. Initially, SelectRC will contain 30 percent post-consumer recycled content derived from repurposed carpet backing. However, as carpet tiles using SelectRC reach their end of life in future years, thermoplastic technology enables them to be recycled back into new 100 percent post-consumer recycled content backing, thus closing the backing loop.
SelectRC is a standard option on Bentley Prince Street’s comprehensive carpet tile offering, which includes 18in X 18in, 36in X 36in and 50cm X 1m in a variety of styles and patterns. Also available is NexStep Cushion Tile, which contains 18 percent post-consumer recycled content.
Bentley Prince Street’s High PerformancePC backing previously contained post-consumer recycled content from a sustainable derivative of the global paper recycling industry. The company recently re-engineered its broadloom backing to reduce its environmental impact one step further, recycling old carpet backing into new High PerformancePC backing. Using state-of-the-art technology, latex carpet backing is recycled and reprocessed into carpet backing for all Bentley Prince Street standard broadloom products. Backing materials not used in Bentley Prince Street’s processes are returned to the supply stream for use in other industries.
In addition, all latex used in Bentley Prince Street’s carpet backing is manufactured using electricity made renewable through the purchase of green-e certified renewable energy credits (RECs) from solar, wind and methane gas. These green-e certified RECs help reduce the environmental impact of electricity production from the use of coal and oil, and provides a way to reduce the carbon footprint of company operations and its customers’ products.
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