CISUFLO is a pan-European project, of which the CFA is a member, which is looking at ways of developing circular sustainable floorcoverings. We spoke to Jane Gardner of the European Floorcoverings Association (EUFCA) and the European Resilient Flooring Manufacturers’ Institute (ERFMI).
Jane has developed a ‘White paper on Collection’ which aims to address in practical terms the issue of facilitating and increasing the volume of floorcoverings to be uplifted from site and enhancing the circularity of the floorcoverings sector. Jane Gardner is optimistic that cross-border partnerships, Government support and the input of a variety of trade associations is leading to significant positive developments which will help us develop collection schemes for waste flooring products. Her work is under the auspices of CISUFLO and there is currently a white paper out for discussion which considers the issues involved.
“We are looking at textile, laminate and resilient,” she says. “The question is: how do you
collect this flooring? Do you collect it all together, or do you collect it separately by flooring type? The Association of European Producers of Laminate Flooring (EPLF) have put together a paper which states their belief that laminate should be collected with wood. So that would be kept separate because it would go in the wood waste stream.
With regard to carpet and resilient, I believe these should be collected separately where possible. However at a household waste collection centre for example, it is quite difficult to separate – and it will be difficult to persuade a household waste collection centre to have one container for carpet and a separate one for resilient flooring. So there can be a case for collecting together and then sorting it separately. That is basically what the white paper is saying, but it is up for discussion within the flooring sector, because the question is how do you fund and organise collections and who takes the lead.”
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