If you are giving the floors in your house a makeover then one of your options is new carpet. The right carpet can completely transform the look and style of your room. However, this frequently means that your old carpet is headed for the dump or landfill. This may come as a surprise, but even if your carpet has been worn threadbare it can still be recycled.

Carpets should be recycled for a variety of reasons. The first being that the less we put into landfills the better. The other reason being, many carpets are made from nylon and other highly durable substances. When left in landfills, it will take them forever to breakdown. This will just add to the garbage and clutter that is already there. It is much better that these carpets be recycled and put to other uses.

Many don’t realize that recycling carpets is an option. Most keep them in their homes until they are damaged or completely worn so it is assumed that they can serve no other use. The truth of the matter is that nylon carpets can be recycled no matter what state they are in. The can be recreated into new carpets and absolutely no quality is lost.

New carpeting isn’t the only option for your recycled carpets. There are different types of recycling that create different products. Sometimes the carpet fibers are takes and converted into backing and underlay for new carpets. Through mechanical recycling, the fibers can be created into different products. Items such as lumber alternatives, parking barriers and even automobile parts can be made from old carpets.

Hundreds of millions of pound of discarded carpets are taken from landfills every year. However, this is only a drop in the bucket when compared to how much carpet still sits unused. If you’re looking to change your carpets, make an environmentally responsible choice and recycle.