Modular Carpet Recycling, LLC opened its first, commercial "waste carpet refinery" on June 7, 2010, in New Castle, Delaware.
Founder and CEO Ron Simonetti explained to Governor Jack Markell, County Executive Chris Coons, Carpet America Recovery Effort Chairman Frank Hurd, Delaware Economic Development Office Director Alan Levin, and three dozen guests that MCR will recycle waste carpet and purify the used nylon to above 99% purity, and re-sell that nylon back to the carpet industry and create manufacturing jobs for the state.
The inception of MCR's first plant is an ecological, economical, and profitable enterprise that solves a looming problem with waste carpet disposal.
Before his comments, Simonetti explained "each person in the US consumes 15 pounds of waste carpet a year - whether or not they like how it tastes." Such waste totals 5 billion pounds that taxes landfills, squanders 5 billion pounds of water used in new manufacturing, and dumps 5 billion pounds of equivalent CO2 emissions into the air. These are huge environmental drawbacks that demand alternatives.
MCR is the latest, most innovative alternative. Simonetti said, "We're chemically processing the waste carpet and removing the nylon in solution. Even the chemicals used are recycled and we don't use intense heat or depolymerization process: so no chemical emissions or harmful discharge. We take waste carpet, recycle it into a reusable product, and leave very little impact on the environment. We're looking at moving toward for 100% recycling. Zero waste is our goal."
That's the Holy Grail of cradle to cradle recycling, a phrase coined by chemist and author William McDonough who calls any closed-loop, industrial process "common sense." Citing that human enterprise can follow nature's lead and laws, McDonough insists that raw materials can be returned to the manufacturing process ad infinitum -- a continuous regeneration of product.
MCR's goals over the next five years are to build out its international network of 4 plants that operate with 0 on the job injuries, raise the purity of its Renewlon to approach virgin quality, and deliver on time 100 milloin pounds of pelletized Renewlon to MCR buyers. Reaching these goals will render an estimated $100 million for MCR.
Simonetti said, "It's what I've always wanted to do: start a small business that has positive impact on society and in this case happens to be green. If you can be competitive when making a green product - that is really something. You can really create a sustaiinable business model."
For his green inspiration, sound environmental business plan, and grand opening, Founder/CEO Simonetti and his MCR, LLC earn the first Green Star from The Green Write.
Learn more at: http://www.modularcarpetrecycling.com/
Read more about MCR's grand opening at: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100608/BUSINESS/6080334/Nylon-recycling-facility-will-create-30-jobs
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