Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) recently approved reallocation of $261,000 in Cycle 1A Capital Improvements grant funding that was not used in 2016. The grant funding supports capital investment, infrastructure and/or equipment that will process or manufacture products utilizing California-generated post-consumer carpet (PCC). CARE has earmarked this funding for CLEAR of Lincoln, Calif. and Sierra Mat and Rubber of Ripon, Calif. These two companies exceeded their PCC recycling targets in 2016.

CLEAR, awarded an additional $150,000, will use the funding to roughly double its recycled output in 2017. CLEAR opened its new facility in California in February 2016 and has been manufacturing primarily PET and polypropylene pellets for secondary markets as well as testing uses for carpet backing and nylon materials.

Sierra Mat & Rubber, awarded an additional $111,000, will use the funding to increase recycled output by approximately 50% in 2017. Sierra is using PCC backing material for secondary products such as mats, wheel stops, and landscape pavers, and is conducting testing for additional applications.

Accounting for these reallocations, CARE has now committed to approximately $2.3 million in 1A and 1B awards in 2016-17, with 87% of funding for California-based projects.

For more information, visit https://carpetrecovery.org.