Guidance on the implication of end of life scenarios for floor coverings in the context of BS EN 15804:2012

Transcription

1 Guidance on the implication of end of life scenarios for floor coverings in the context of BS EN 15804: Introduction This guidance document has been prepared by Building Research Establishment (BRE) on behalf of the Flooring Sustainability Partnership (FSP). The FSP has been formed as part of the work to develop a Flooring Resource Efficiency Plan for the sector which was initiated by the Construction Products Association. The Flooring Resource Efficiency Plan has been jointly prepared by the FSP in partnership with the Contract Flooring Association, and BRE. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the implication of end of life scenarios for floor coverings in the context of BS EN 15804:2012, the new standard for the Sustainability of Construction Works - Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) Core rules for the production category of construction products. An EPD conducted to the new BS EN i standard can contain the following information modules: A1-A3, Product stage, information modules The product stage includes: A1, raw material extraction and processing, processing of secondary material input (e.g. recycling processes), A2, transport to the manufacturer, A3, manufacturing, A4-A5, Construction process stage, information modules The construction process stage includes: A4, transport to the building site; A5, installation into the building; B1-B5, Use stage, information modules related to the building fabric The use stage, related to the building fabric includes: 1

2 B1, use or application of the installed product; B2, maintenance; B3, repair; B4, replacement; B5, refurbishment; B6-B7, use stage, information modules related to the operation of the building The use stage related to the operation of the building includes: B6, operational energy use (e.g. operation of heating system and other building related installed services); B7, operational water use; C1-C4 End-of-life stage, information modules The end-of-life stage includes: C1, de-construction, demolition: C2, transport to waste processing; C3, waste processing for reuse, recovery and/or recycling; C4, disposal; D, Benefits and loads beyond the system boundary, information module Module D includes: D, reuse, recovery and/or recycling potentials, expressed as net impacts and benefits. These modules are illustrated in Figure 1: 2

3 Fig 1: Life Cycle Stages and Modules for Building Assessment in BS EN

4 For the purposes of the Guidance Document, only the implications of Modules C and D are considered for floor coverings The End-of-Life Stage in BS EN BS EN uses the terms end-of-waste and end-of-life to describe different states for materials / products. End-of-Waste Stage According to BS EN 15804, floor covering outputs from installation, maintenance, repair, replacement or refurbishing processes leaving the building, are at first considered to be waste. The floor covering will no longer be considered a waste, in other words will reach its end-ofwaste state when it meets all of the following criteria: the floor covering is commonly used for specific purposes; a market or demand, identified e.g. by a positive economic value, exists for the recovered floor covering. the recovered floor covering fulfils the technical requirements for the specific purposes and meets the existing legislation and standards applicable to the products; the use of the recovered floor covering will not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts 1. End-of-Life Stage Once a product has met its end-of-waste state, its end-of-life stage begins. In other words, the end-of-life stage of the floor covering starts when it is replaced or removed from the building or construction works and does not provide any further functionality. The end-of-life stage can also start when the building is deconstructed or demolished. Floor finishes can be included in Module D when they have reached their end-of-life stage from the construction product system. The end-of-life stage includes the optional Information Modules: C1 deconstruction, including dismantling or demolition, of the floor covering from the building, including initial on-site sorting of the materials; C2 transportation of the discarded product as part of the waste processing, e.g. to a recycling site and transportation of waste e.g. to final disposal; C3 waste processing e.g. collection of waste fractions from the deconstruction and waste processing of material flows intended for reuse, recycling and energy recovery. Waste processing shall be modelled and the elementary flows shall be included in the inventory. 1 As set by regulation. 4

5 Materials for energy recovery have to go to an energy recovery facility with an efficiency rate of 60% or higher. C4 waste disposal including physical pre-treatment and management of the disposal site. Burdens, (e.g. emissions) from waste disposal in Module C4 are considered part of the product system under study, according to the polluter pays principle. If however this process generates energy such as heat and power from waste incineration or landfill the potential benefits from utilisation of such energy in the next product system are assigned to Module D and are calculated using current average substitution processes. Box 1: Example of Substitution Processes Impacts of generating kwh of electricity from burning 1kg of floor covering = A Impacts of generating kwh of grid electricity = B Benefits / burdens of burning 1 kg of floor covering = A-B The decision tree for the end of waste stage is illustrated in figure 2. 5

6 Fig 2: Decision Tree for End of Waste Stage 1.2. Benefits and loads beyond the product system boundary in module D Environmental benefits which result from the life cycle of the floor finish, such as reusable products, recyclable materials, etc, which have not been allocated as a co-product and that have passes the end-of -waste state described in Section 1.2, can be included within module D. Avoided impacts from allocated co-products cannot be included in Module D. The information in module D may contain technical information as well as the environmental impacts and parameters (as described in Clause 7 of EN 15804:1012). 6

7 2. The Flooring Sector The flooring market can be divided into two areas: Domestic market - the material installed in single occupancy housing whereby the occupier specified the product to be used. Flooring is sold through either large chain outlets or via distributors and independent retailers Non-domestic or Contract market - refers to all other situations and includes schools, hospitals, shops, offices, public building and leisure, as well as housing controlled by local authorities or housing associations. Flooring is sold either direct or via a distributor to a flooring contractor Use of Floor Finishes in the Domestic Sector Traditionally the main floor covering used in private housing was carpet ii. Up to the mid 1970s this was mainly woven with 100% wool pile. Then a blend of wool with 20% of nylon (80/20) began to be introduced, initially as a cost saving measure due to the high prevailing price of wool. The increased wearability of the 80/20 blend was then also quickly noticed. In the last 20 years there has been a trend towards lower cost floor coverings with a shorter useful life, mainly tufted carpets manufactured from 80/20, nylon 6 and 6.6, polypropylene and acrylic. This fulfilled increasing fashion-based purchasing by consumers during the 1990s. The early 2000 s saw another trend towards laminated floor finishes. This resulted from media sources reporting research suggesting that dust-mites trapped in carpets could be a source of asthma and allergic reactions when they became airborne through foot traffic and inhaled. Since laminates and smooth floor finishes are easier to clean, thereby removing the dust-mites, this was thought to be an advantage. However the poor appearance retention and noise insulation of laminates has seen a trend back to carpets. Another factor which has influenced the trend towards lower cost floor finishes is the increasing rental market as landlords will tend to go for a low cost option. Solid and engineered wood has an increasing niche market and had benefited from the decline in laminates. Wood s status as a renewable resource has added to its appeal and the ability to recoat the surface can prolong its life but noise insulation can still be an issue. However the market is limited due to the high cost of wood flooring. Resilients, especially vinyls, are also increasing market share as more appealing designs are now on offer. Rubber and Linoleum are also increasingly used in kitchens and bathrooms ( wet areas). Ceramics have benefited from the trend towards a Mediterranean style of living, resulting from people s exposure to this style from holidays and the media. Ceramics are also very durable, aesthetically pleasing and have benefits when used with underfloor heating. 7

8 2.2. Use of Floor Finishes in the Non-domestic Sector Carpets have a predominant market share in the non-domestic sector. The main reasons for this are noise reduction and the overall comfort of the occupants. The types of carpets mainly used are tufted, fibre-bond and fusion bond in both broadloom and tile forms. Carpets are also important in the education sector and non-operational areas of the healthcare sector. Resilients have traditionally been widely used in education and healthcare as they are easy to clean and maintain. Recent government investment in these sectors has especially benefited all types of resilients. Ceramics are widely used in retail and specialised areas like office foyers where a combination of aesthetic appeal and very high durability is required. In terms of BREEAM building types assessed, terrazzo floors tend to be only widely used in very high durability locations in the retail sector. Wood and laminate floor finishes are also popular within the retail sector, where a contemporary look is desired. Laminates have suffered from the same poor appearance retention as in the domestic sector and so demand has peaked. Wood is increasing in popularity but market penetration is limited by price considerations Overview of the Waste Issue The sector is estimated to produce 583,000 tonnes of flooring waste every year iii. Figure 3 below shows the approximate amounts of flooring waste generated per year. Flooring waste can be generated during the manufacturing process, installation and the refurbishment or demolition of a building. Currently 93% of this waste is associated with post-consumer floor coverings with the remainder being post-industrial from manufacturing and installation. 8

9 Fig 3: Approximate amounts of flooring waste generated per year The vast majority of waste (71%) created is from carpet, which reflects the predominance of carpet in the floor coverings market. This has begun to change as other types of floor covering have increased their market share in recent years. This will ultimately change the nature of floor covering waste in the future as they in turn are disposed of. Floor coverings can come under several waste classifications in the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) and these are listed in Table 1. These codes are used by Waste Processing Contractors when transferring the waste floor coverings from installation or from building demolition to their point of disposal or recycling. Table 1: Relevant EWC codes for Floor Coverings. EWC Code Description Wastes from composite materials (impregnated textile, elastomer, plastomer) Wastes from processed textile fibres Waste paint & varnish containing organic solvents or other dangerous substances Waste paint & varnish other than those mentioned in Construction and demolition wastes (tiles and ceramics) 9

10 Construction and demolition wastes (wood) Construction and demolition wastes (plastic) Mixed construction and demolition waste other than those mentioned in Municipal solid waste textiles 3. Disposal routes for Floor Coverings The opportunity to reclaim, recycle or re-use floor finishes at end of life has until recently been limited. However schemes to recover material from construction, refurbishment or demolition are being actively implemented. Floor coverings are usually installed with adhesive, grout or underlay and these additional materials need to be considered at the disposal stage. For the Green Guide to Specification 4 th edition iv, end of life models at construction, refurbishment and demolition stages have been generated based on WRAP data for each floor finish type based on the typical percentage of material going to each wastage destination, either landfill, incineration or recycling. For most materials, the impact associated with end of life is the disposal impact relating to the amount of material landfilled or incinerated. The BRE Methodology also includes the emissions associated with incineration and landfill, including burning of landfill gas. For renewable materials, the end of life stage can have a significant impact if the sequestered carbon is released back into the environment through incineration or decay in landfill. For each type of floor finish listed within the Green Guide, the end of life wastage routes associated with these products are listed within Table 2. It should be noted that these wastage routes apply in the UK and the relative percentages of landfill, incineration and recycle/reuse may vary considerably in other countries. Table 2: End of Life Waste Destination Routes for floor coverings Floor Finish Type Carpets Resilients LCA Stage End of life impacts from construction, refurbishment and demolition End of life impacts from construction, refurbishment and demolition End of Life Waste Destination (%) Incinerati Recycled/ Landfill on Reused 91% 3% 6% 87% 1% 12% 10

11 Floor Finish Type Hard Flooring (inc. wood, laminate, stone & ceramics) LCA Stage End of life impacts from construction, refurbishment and demolition End of Life Waste Destination (%) Incinerati Recycled/ Landfill on Reused 67% 1% 32% Using the above UK based scenarios, the impact of disposal compared to the total cradle to grave impacts of various types of floor covering and their installation materials are detailed in Figure 4. Installation materials will include adhesive for carpet tiles and resilient floors, underlay for wool/ nylon carpet in domestic installations and grout for ceramic tiles. Adhesive and grout will be bound to the floor covering and so will follow the same disposal route. Underlays can be assumed to be used for an average of two installations of floor covering Percentage of total cradle to grave impact Installation material Transport to site Cleaning & maintenance Disposal Manufacturing Nylon carpet tile Nylon carpet tile Polypropylene bitumen backed PVC backed carpet textile backed Wool/ nylon broadloom carpet Porcelain / ceramic tile PVC resilient flooring Linoleum Rubber resilient resilient flooring flooring Fig 4: Disposal impact compared to total cradle to grave impact of floor coverings N.B. The percentage impacts of each LCA stage for each floor covering have been calculated using Ecopoints generated by the BRE methodology. 11

12 Figure 4 shows that manufacturing and maintenance are the dominant stages for all floor finishes presented here. There is variation in the contribution of disposal impacts between the different types of floor covering. The next section looks in more detail at the impacts of the individual disposal routes using the following impact indicators specified in EN Table 3: EN impact Indicators Environmental Issue Climate Change Stratospheric ozone depletion Eutrophication Photochemical ozone creation Acidification Impact kg CO 2 eq. (100 yr) kg CFC-11 eq. kg PO 4 eq. kg C 2 H 4 eq. kg SO 2 eq Landfill The impacts of landfill will be captured in the following lifecycle stages: modules A3 for any waste created during manufacturing, A5 for any waste created during installation, B1 5 during the use stage and C1, C2 and C4 at the end of life stage in BS EN as no processing is usually done to floor covering waste before landfilling, apart from initial sorting. It can be seen that landfill remains the dominant disposal route in the UK. However, the policy drivers that limited landfill space remains in the UK and the Landfill tax escalator will increase to around 80/t by 2014/15. Carpet can also comprise up to 11% of residual waste taken to civic amenity sites and approximately 2% of all waste dumped into landfill. Most floor coverings are made from a range of materials which have been combined to produce the correct product characteristics, texture or durability. Synthetic fibres such as nylon, polypropylene and polyester do not decompose readily. Moreover, the chemical additives used in some plastics results can leach out of old or badly maintained landfills to contaminate soil and groundwater. Wool will break down fairly readily into complex odorous compounds based around the constituent elements of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. Jute and other cellulose based materials will also break down fairly readily. 12

13 Fillers such as ground limestone or chalk are blended with latex, bitumen and PVC in carpet backings and in most forms of resilient flooring. This makes the floor covering difficult to decompose completely even in the conditions of a landfill site Incineration Incineration is not a disposal route that has had a great take-up in the UK to date, which is due to various social and political reasons. This is reflected in the low percentages in Table 2. However incineration is widely used in Europe both for energy generation and for thermal recovery in cement production. The impacts of Incineration will be captured in Module C4 (disposal): the predisposal impacts will be captured by C1 (deconstruction), C2 (transport to waste processing and disposing facilities) and C3 (waste processing prior to incineration) in BS EN If a floor covering is to be considered for incineration then the calorific value or the amount of energy it can potentially create needs to be considered v. The net energy produced from incineration of different materials used to manufacture floor coverings is shown in Table 4. The incineration of floor coverings for electricity generation may mean that less oil, gas or nuclear material will need to be used by the grid. The advantage this gives will depend on the mix of electricity generation in each country. The use of floor coverings to generate heat, for example in cement kilns, will mean that less natural gas needs to be used for the process. Man-made polymers can be either oil or cellulose based. Both types are flammable and are, in theory, suitable for incineration. PVC waste contributes between 38% and 66% of the chlorine content in waste streams being incinerated vi. Also incineration can produce contaminated ash residue from any filler material used in the product, which then needs to be encased in inert material and landfilled. The higher chlorine content of some polymers, such as PVC, can also potentially result in dioxins being formed during incineration. However, modern incinerators can be regulated to minimise dioxin emissions and operators of incineration plants do not perceive PVC as a problem. Research has shown that if PVC was removed from incinerators the amount of dioxin emitted would not be reduced. Chlorine from other sources, such as paper and vegetable waste actually has more of an effect. Natural products such as wool, jute and linseed are readily incinerated but any residues of sheep dip pesticides and herbicides can also potentially create dioxins. Table 4: Calorific values of floor covering materials compared to common fuels Net energy produced from incineration, MJ/kg Individual materials Electricity Thermal Polypropylene

14 Polyester PVC Rubber Wool Nylon Bitumen Limestone Wood The amount of energy generated by a square metre of the three examples of carpet can be calculated vii. Typical values are shown in Table 5: Table 5: Net energy generated by incinerating a square metre of various types of carpet MJ/kg MJ/m 2 MJ/kg MJ/m 2 Carpet type kg/m 2 Electrical Thermal Wool rich polypropylene backed Nylon bitumen backed tiles Carpet with PP* pile and backing * Polypropylene The impact of this amount of energy generated by incineration can then be compared to the impact of generating the same amount of electricity by the UK National Grid and the impact of burning the amount of gas to create the same amount of energy. The relative impacts of incineration compared to generating the equivalent amount of UK Grid Electricity and Thermal Energy are shown in Figure 5. 14

15 Photochemical Ozone Creation Acidification kg SO2 eq kg C2H4 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Eutrophication kg PO4 eq kg CFC-11 eq Climate Change kg CO2 eq 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Equivalent thermal energy Equivalent electrical energy (UK grid) Incineration of Polypropylene carpet Fig 5: Impacts of incinerating PP carpet compared to equivalent electricity generation thermal energy Figure 5 shows that the incineration process was sometimes better than the conventional energy production alternative and sometimes worse meaning that the Module D would report some burdens and some benefits. For example, incineration had much higher Climate Change impacts than those for generating the same of either thermal or electrical energy but had the lowest Acidification and Photochemical Ozone Creation impacts Recycling and Reuse ISO viii defines recycled content as the proportion, by mass, of recycled material in a product or packaging. Only pre-consumer and post-consumer materials shall be considered as recycled content, consistent with the following usage of the terms: Pre-consumer or Post-industrial material: Material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it. 15

16 Post-consumer material: Material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose. Wastes recovered at the end of life stage may be: recycled or reused in the original manufacturing process (limited use) sold as a product for another use taken away free of charge by another company for recycling sent to waste disposal at a cost to the producer or recycled by another company at a cost to the producer Allocation for Post-consumer Materials which are Recycled and Reused The system boundary for the end-of-life stage is set where the end-of-waste state is reached by the product. Therefore, the impacts associated with waste processing of the materials undergoing recovery or recycling during any life cycle stage of the product (e.g. during the production stage, use stage or end-of-life stage) are included up to the system boundary of the respective module. Where relevant (see sections and of BS EN 15804), module D declares potential burdens and benefits of secondary material, secondary fuel or recovered energy leaving the product system. Module D recognises the design for reuse, recycling and recovery concept for floor coverings by indicating the potential benefits of avoided future use of primary materials and fuels while taking into account the loads associated with the recycling and recovery processes beyond the system boundary. Where a secondary material or fuel crosses the system boundary e.g. at the end-of-waste state and if it substitutes another material or fuel in the following product system, the potential benefits or avoided loads can be calculated based on a specified scenario which is consistent with any other scenario for waste processing and is based on current average technology or practice (see Box 1). In module D the net impacts are calculated as follows: by adding all output flows of a secondary material or fuel and subtracting all input flows of this secondary material or fuel from each sub-module first (e.g. B1-B5, C1-C4, etc.), then from the modules (e.g. B, C), and finally from the total product system thus arriving at net output flows of secondary material or fuel from the product system; by adding the impacts connected to the recycling or recovery processes from beyond the system 16

17 boundary (after the end-of-waste state) up to the point of functional equivalence where the secondary material or energy substitutes primary production and subtracting the impacts resulting from the substituted production of the product or substituted generation of energy from primary sources; by applying a justified value-correction factor to reflect the difference in functional equivalence where the output flow does not reach the functional equivalence of the substituting process. In module D substitution effects are calculated only for the resulting net output flow. The amount of secondary material output, which is for all practical purposes able to replace one to one the input of secondary material as closed loop is allocated to the product system under study and not to module D Impacts of floor covering reuse Impacts for reuse will be from transportation of waste floor covering to a recycling centre, sorting, cleaning and refurbishment and packing. The expected service life of a reused floor covering will be less than the original manufacturer s warranty as the pile will already be partially worn and reused product may lose its appearance more quickly. For the generic work on Reclaimed 'Vintage' Carpet Tiles for the Green Guide reference service lives of 3 to 5 years were used depending on the wear type, whereas 10 years was used for carpet tiles made from virgin materials. Using the BRE methodology as an assessment tool, reused carpet can have 50 67% of the impact of the equivalent carpet made from virgin materials on a cradle-to-grave basis, assuming the above reductions in reference service life Recycling of Materials from Carpet In all weaving and tufting processes there will be an incomplete use of yarn provided for the production run of a particular design. Where carpet is aqueous dyed the residual yarn will be undyed and can be returned to the supplier for recycling. Some yarn producers are now offering yarns made from complete or partial recycled material. There are several material extraction processes available for beginning the recycling process for post-consumer carpets, mainly based around shredding and granulation. The result of these processes will be short length fibres and granulated or powdered carpet material. The transport of waste material to factory gate and any manufacturing impacts will be considered. All-synthetic granulated material can be melted and reformed into carpet backing. If individual materials can be recovered in the recycling process then a wider range of recycling opportunities are available. There are therefore a variety of processes that can be used for recycling. Mainly mechanical processes are used to convert fibrous waste into a web that could be used for carpet underlay or insulation. Granulated or powdered material may need to be combined with other virgin 17

18 materials to be reused as a carpet backing or as various plastic products. These are typically construction products in panels, posts, planks or pipe forms. Panels can substitute for the use of plywood and posts and planks can substitute for the use of virgin wood in general construction, landscaping and in the manufacture of outdoor furniture. The environmental impact will be equivalent to the energy used for the original extrusion of the material as a fibre. Figure 6 shows the comparison of the impact of re-melting polypropylene for a carpet backing with municipal incineration and landfill. The impacts of extrusion into film, pipe and injection moulding are also compared. The Figure shows that incineration has the greatest Climate Change but is typically lower in other impact categories. Mechanical processes are not as energy intensive using less than 10% of the energy of re-melting. These processes generally consist of fibre assembly, carding and possible needle punching to be formed into underlay or insulation products. Wool and jute are also suitable for composting and use in land reclamation and horticulture. Wool is especially suitable as a fertiliser due to its high nitrogen content, although this is more difficult if it is combined with 20% nylon. Photochemical Ozone Creation Acidification kg SO2 eq kg C2H4 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Eutrophication kg PO4 eq kg CFC-11 eq Climate Change kg CO2 eq 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Disposal, polypropylene to landfill Disposal, polypropylene to incineration Injection moulding Extrusion, plastic pipes Extrusion, plastic film Re-melting of polypropylene for carpet backing 18

19 Fig 6: Comparison of re-melting polypropylene with municipal incineration, landfill and plastics extrusion methods Recycling of materials from Resilient Flooring Similarly to synthetic carpet materials, PVC resilient flooring can also be shredded, granulated or powdered, and then re-melted to make a secondary input material for suitable plastic products at the end of life stage and the generic impacts of extrusion and injection moulding of plastics is shown in figure 5. Linoleum, being formed from natural materials, could be suitable for composting. As the service life of resilient flooring is much longer than carpets then the overall impact will be less than carpet. Production waste from PVC and linoleum can be re-used in the process to replace some of the virgin input material or, if coloured, as design highlight flakes. The opportunities for re-using rubber in the original process are limited if it has been vulcanized Recycling of materials from Hard flooring Like resilient flooring, hard flooring manufactured from cement, stone and ceramic materials have a relatively long service life and so the impacts of disposal are consequently lower. If hard flooring deteriorates e.g. ceramic tiles cracking, then the tendency is to put a new surface over the top of it because of the difficulties in removing it. Hard flooring therefore tends on the reach the end of life state when the building is demolished. Table 1 shows that most hard flooring is sent to landfill although less in proportion to other types of floor. It can also be classified as inert waste. Although hard flooring is not disposed of as frequently, the weight that does go to landfill will incur an economic cost. The 32% that is recycled is mainly ground up for use as aggregate in concrete or road building. Figure 7 shows the relative impacts of landfilling hard flooring against the recycling of hard flooring by milling to produce aggregates. 19

20 Photochemical Ozone Creation Acidification kg SO2 eq kg C2H4 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Human Toxicity Eutrophication Climate Change kg PO4 eq kg 1,4-DB eq kg CFC-11 eq kg CO2 eq 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Disposal, hard flooring to landfill Recycling of hard flooring by milling Fig 7: Relative impacts of disposing of hard flooring to landfill and milling for aggregate use Recycling of Paint and Resin flooring Paint and resin flooring have only recently started to be used outside of the traditional use of industrial flooring, but is increasingly being specified for commercial offices, education, retail and healthcare sectors. The thicknesses applied can range from simple concrete sealants and paint to high-build epoxy resin floors and the service lives of each type of floor can vary widely. Like hard flooring they are easily not removed and, especially in the case of paint and sealants, are recoated when necessary. Disposal will therefore only be an issue when the building is demolished and so the impact of disposal will be low. However due to the nature of the products recycling or reuse may not be possible Cradle to Cradle Recycling This is an initiative that has been put forward by McDonough-Braungart Design Chemistry ix. This is a type of certification that can be recycled at the end of life into the original input materials i.e. pile yarn can be recovered and processed into a new pile yarn input to another production system and the same for carpet backing. 20

21 This has been achieved with some success for nylon 6 pile yarn as it is made from a single polymer, caprolactam. The impacts of re-processing and re-extrusion would have to be set against the impact of manufacturing virgin nylon 6 and other factors such as the disposal of residual dyes, pigments and finishes would also need to be considered. Carpet backings manufactured from thermoplastic materials can also be melted and reused as has already been described in section Specific examples of impact of different disposal routes for floor coverings The relative impacts of the different types of disposal route are now detailed for a number of floor coverings. Figure 8 shows the relative impacts of disposing of typical carpet materials to incineration and landfill and figure 9 shows similar impacts for PVC, rubber and linoleum resilient floors. Please note that for latex in carpet refer to the rubber impacts in figure 9 and for limestone filler impacts in resilients, please refer to figure 8. Photochemical Ozone Creation Acidification kg SO2 eq kg C2H4 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Eutrophication kg PO4 eq kg CFC-11 eq Climate Change kg CO2 eq 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Disposal, limestone to landfill Disposal, limestone to incineration Disposal, polypropylene to landfill Disposal, polypropylene to incineration Disposal, PA/PES to landfill Disposal, PA/PES to incineration Disposal, wool to landfill Disposal, wool to incineration Disposal, bitumen to landfill Disposal, bitumen to incineration Fig 8: Relative impacts of disposing of typical carpet materials to incineration and landfill. 21

22 Photochemical Ozone Creation Acidification kg SO2 eq kg C2H4 Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Eutrophication kg PO4 eq kg CFC-11 eq Climate Change kg CO2 eq 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Disposal, rubber to landfill Disposal, rubber to incineration Disposal, linoleum to landfill Disposal, linoleum to incineration Disposal, PVC to landfill Disposal, PVC to incineration Fig 9: Relative impacts of disposing of resilient flooring materials to incineration and landfill. It can be seen that the impact of landfilling is less for all materials shown. However this has not taken into account any net benefit of energy generation through incineration or the economic and legal implications of continuing to landfill. The impact of landfilling wool is relatively high due to its biodegradability. The impact of recycling has not been included as is very difficult to quantify due to the variety of different mechanical and re-melting options available. The impact, especially for carpets which consist of numerous different materials, will also depend on the ability to deconstruct them into their constituent input materials. If this is possible then the possible scenarios have been detailed for the following floor coverings: 4.1. Typical recycling routes for specific carpet products Typical carpet products would be composed of materials which are shown with the most likely route for recycling in Table 6: 22

23 Table 6: Composition of typical carpet products and likely recycling route Nylon bitumen backed carpet tile Input materials Use in carpet Percentage in mix Limestone Filler in backing with latex & bitumen Possible recycling route Incineration with energy recovery more likely Bitumen Backing Nylon Pile yarn Recycling into new yarn, remelting into plastic materials or fibre based underlay and insulation Polypropylene Primary or 0-5 Re-melting into plastic materials Polyester secondary backing 0-5 or fibre based underlay and materials insulation Latex Backing 0-5 Fibre based underlay and insulation as combined with limestone Glass fibre Backing 0-2 Any of the above as difficult to separate Wool nylon woven carpet Input materials Use in carpet Percentage in mix Wool Pile yarn combined with nylon Nylon Pile yarn combined with wool Polyester Warp thread 7-12 Polypropylene Weft thread Latex Backing 3-5 Possible recycling route Fibre based underlay and insulation, land reclamation and stabilisation as materials are combined Polypropylene tufted carpet with textile backing Input materials Use in carpet Percentage in Possible recycling route mix Polypropylene Pile yarn Re-melting into carpet backing, Polypropylene Primary & 8-12 plastic materials or fibre based secondary backing fabrics underlay and insulation Limestone Filler in backing Fibre based underlay and 23

24 Latex Backing 5-10 insulation as materials are combined 4.2. Typical recycling routes for specific resilient flooring products Typical resilient flooring would be composed of materials which are shown with the most likely route for recycling in Table 7: Table 7: Composition of typical resilient flooring and likely recycling route Linoleum flooring Input materials Use in flooring Percentage in mix Wood-type Prime material products Limestone & Filler minerals Oils & resins For texture and end-use properties PVC flooring Input materials Use in flooring Percentage in mix Possible recycling route Linseed oil Prime material Possibly shredding and granulating to make input material to original process or composting. Most likely disposal to incineration Possible recycling route PVC Prime material Possibly re-melting into plastic Chemical For texture and materials or highlight effects in additives Limestone & minerals end-use properties Filler original process. Most likely disposal to incineration Rubber flooring Input materials Use in flooring Percentage in Possible recycling route mix Rubber Prime material Possibly grinding up for highlight Chemical For texture and effects in original process. Most additives end-use properties likely disposal to incineration Limestone & minerals Filler

25 i BS EN 15804:2012 Sustainability of construction works Environmental product declarations Core rules for the product category of construction products. ii iii Dutfield A, Mundy J & Anderson J, Environmental Impact of Floor Finishes, BRE Press, retrieved from web on 20 th Feb 2012 iv Anderson J, Shiers D, Steele K, The Green Guide to Specification, 4 th Edition, BRE Press, 2009 v Miraftab M, Horrocks R & Woods C, Carpet waste, an expensive luxury we must do without!, AUTEX Research Journal Vol 1, No.1, vi Buekens A, Cen K, PVC and waste incineration - modern technologies solve old problems, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China vii viii ecoinvent database v1.3, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, 2006 ISO : Environmental Labels and Declarations - Self-Declared Environmental Claims (Type 2 Environmental Labelling) ix retrieved from web on 22 nd Feb