The assessment is higher for carpet tile because the cost to recycle carpet tile is much higher than broadloom, due to the processes required, along with the transportation costs to tile recycling facilities located in the eastern U.S.. CARE estimates that less than five percent of carpet tile in California is currently being recycled or reused.
Carpet retailers in the state are advised to begin planning immediately for the point of purchase changes that will be needed to correctly assign the assessments and collect the assessment from customers. Carpet mills will be responsible for advising retailers on which products qualify in terms of post-consumer content. CARE will supply point of purchase material as well as training support materials for sales staff. Retailers are encouraged to visit the CARE website for the latest developments.
“This assessment change undoubtedly is a burden for the approximately 2,000 California retailers and 79 carpet mills with operations in the state,” noted CARE Executive Director Bob Peoples. “CARE is working with retailers, mills, distributors and software companies to clarify and ease the transition. The good news is that the assessment is not increasing for broadloom carpet and will even go down slightly for broadloom containing more than 10 percent post-consumer content.”
The California carpet stewardship legislation (AB 2398, 1159 and 729) is designed to find ways to incentivize the growth of carpet reclamation and recycling and still allow the market to work. The law (AB 2398) generates funding to meet its stated goals through the assessment on all carpet sold in California. California consumers pay the assessment when they buy carpet. Those monies then support CARE’s efforts, including subsidies paid to recyclers, grants to expand capacity and collection, technical assistance and outreach, to increase carpet recycling in California.
CARE will establish a process and schedule to reevaluate the amounts and factors for differential assessment as part of its next 5-Year Plan.