FROM VISION TO REALIZATION
Much is already known, researched and used in labs or lighthouse projects in the field of sustainability, recycling and the circular economy. The final step into reality and thus into the transformation of production, processing and disposal processes is unfortunately still too often missing. So far, the greatest challenge has been the return of used products, their cleaning and processing in order to implement a recycling process with as little loss of value and quantity as possible and to create new products. The aim must be to close the cycle in order to start it all over again at the same time.
This year the time had come! The French floor manufacturer Tarkett, who has been researching and implementing innovative materials, recycling processes, waste recovery and innovative production methods for years, has closed the cycle in a project in Sweden together with IKEA. Thanks to a new, innovative separation and recycling method, a vision became reality.
A technological breakthrough
10,000 square meters of homogeneous vinyl flooring were taken back from the IKEA store in Kungens Kurve and then transported to the company’s own Tarkett factory in Ronneby. There the used floor covering was shredded and then cleaned of adhesive and concrete residues in a specially developed process. In this way, enough raw material is obtained from 1 m² of used flooring for the production of 1 m² of new, recycled flooring. The particularly resource-saving process and the closed cycle process made it possible to save almost 100 tons of CO2. The new flooring has meanwhile been laid at IKEA in Jönköping.
“The project is an excellent example of what a circular economy can look like in practice. Our thanks go to IKEA Retail Sweden for the good cooperation in this matter. Tarkett has been recycling waste from production and installation for many years, but now we have actually been able to demonstrate how and that the recycling of old flooring works. It is a lighthouse project with a signal effect for the future and we are sure that many more collaborations of this kind will follow”,
sums up Dag Duberg, Nordic Sustainability Manager at Tarkett
“It is our ambitious goal to make IKEA recyclable by 2030. Among other things, it is important to extend the service life of products and materials. For example, this includes having old floors recycled by the supplier so that the recycled raw material can be used to manufacture new floorings. These are then in turn relocated to other stores. Such an approach benefits both us humans and the planet. Last but not least, the figures also speak for the immense potential of the circular economy: The project saved almost 100 tons of CO2 emissions “,
explains Jonas Carlehed, Sustainability Manager IKEA Retail Sweden
Calculation of the climatic benefits of the project
When one square meter of flooring is burned, 4.23 kilograms of CO2 are released, while the production of raw materials for one square meter of flooring releases 5.36 kilograms *. That is a total of around 9.6 kilograms of CO2 emissions that are eliminated when recycling. For an area of 10,000 square meters, this results in a total saving of 96 tons of carbon dioxide. The used flooring weighs around three kilograms per square meter. Transporting the materials from Stockholm to Ronneby by truck emits around two tons of CO2 **. Since fossil-free energy is used for the recycling process in the plant, the resulting emissions can be neglected. The total CO2 savings of the project are therefore 94 tons of carbon dioxide.
* The values are based on certified environmental product declarations (EPD) from third-party suppliers for the flooring concerned
** The calculation is based on a heavy truck transport with over 30 tons of material over a distance of around 550 kilometers. According to Trafa Rapport (2015: 12), 120 grams of CO2 are emitted per tonne-kilometer
What does this mean for customers?
Lower emissions
Recycling vinyl flooring helps reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the use of energy to extract and manufacture new raw materials and avoiding emissions from incineration and landfilling of waste. One square meter of recycled, homogeneous iQ vinyl flooring avoids 9.8 kg of CO2.
Reducing the amount of waste
Reduce the amount of waste and save on disposal costs.
Floor coverings based on the principle of the circular economy
Vinyl can be effectively recycled up to eight times. This enables Tarkett to increase the amount of recycled content in its products and offer its customers a more sustainable flooring.By 2030, the goal is to use 30% recycled materials by volume in all products.
Green Buildings
By recycling and using floor coverings with recycled content, you are one step closer to green building certification.
An efficient take-back and recycling service
Tarkett collects your floor coverings through the established take-back and recycling program “ReStart”. Between 2010 and 2020, 109,000 tonnes of installation scrap and used flooring, including vinyl flooring, were collected worldwide.
