Desso makes great advances in recycling products
15 July 2009
With nine Cradle to Cradle carpet tiles
Desso makes great advances in recycling products
Desso, the leading European carpet manufacturer, has already achieved its Cradle to Cradle aims for 2009 before the summer. This means that the carpet manufacturer is on track to produce 100% of its tiles according to its Cradle to Cradle vision by 2020. "The aim was to certify three Cradle to Cradle carpet tiles this year. But now nine, or 22% of our sales volume in carpet tiles, have already been certified. Our aim is to make a closed cycle for our products," according to Stef Kranendijk, CEO of Desso.
"In order to achieve this, we recently put in place a take back program. Carpets that are at the end of their life cycle will be collected and processed into raw material for new carpets. By collecting used carpets from clients, we can prevent the carpet ending up in landfill or plain waste incineration," says Stef Kranendijk, CEO of Desso.
Extensive operation
Apart from the 'Pallas' and 'Torso' tile, which were launched earlier this year, Desso also certified the following products; Flavia, Flux, Palatino, Penta, Trapez, Tempra and Madison, bringing the total Desso Cradle to Cradle tile portfolio to nine. This was a major operation, because each aspect of the product has to meet the Cradle to Cradle standards. Moreover, all suppliers have to use materials which are within the provisions of the certificate. "We want to make all parts of our products in such a way that they can always be recycled, or even better, upcycled," comments Alexander Collot d'Escury, CCO of Desso.
Certification
The certificates are tested according to five different aspects. First of all the product transparency is investigated. The materials of which a product consists and their effects on health and the environment are examined. In addition, an analysis is made whether the various materials can be recycled, or even better, upcycled. Next, the amount of energy and water is assessed that is required for the production process and, finally, what kind of ethics the organisation is pursuing is investigated.
Recycling of yarn and backing
Desso has spent a lot of time and energy in recent years on meeting these five aspects. For example, all materials of the certified carpet tiles have been screened independently by the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA). In the meanwhile Desso is close to reaching the stage of being able to recycle the yarn and backing of the carpet tiles every time, without losing its raw material, quality or value.
Desso has made great advances on the eco- efficiency front in saving energy. For example, green electricity is used, each product has a so-called GuT certificate, no solvents are used and existing waste material is used as fuel for the cement industry. Moreover, the factories of Desso have water treatment plants, which treat 410 million litres of water per year. More than 50% of which is being reused and the aim is to close the loop completely by the beginning of next year. With a new closed cooling system Desso also saves another 11 million litres of drinking water every year.
Speeding up analyses
In cooperation with EPEA and MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) Desso also increased the pace of its research and analysis of its products. "We have already been studying and analysing Cradle to Cradle certification for some time. Based on that experience we certify the carpet tiles per product group, and no longer per product," according to Kranendijk. "This will speed up certification considerably."
