Negative carbon carpet tiles developed

Carpet tiles have been manufactured that have a negative carbon footprint.

Concerns over climate change have caused many industries to research ways to reduce their carbon footprint. The UK government wants to drastically reduce carbon emissions in homes and commercial premises. USA carpet tile manufacturer Interface claims that the process it has developed creates a carpet tile that saves 300g of carbon per square metre.

The tiles are made from vegetation and recycled nylon, and the latex in the carpet tiles is made from smokestack exhaust. This removes carbon from the atmosphere, which is a reason for the negative carbon claim.

In the mid-1990s, Interface calculated that 20 kilograms of CO2 was emitted in the atmosphere to make a square metre of carpet. Over the years, it has gradually reduced carbon emissions when manufacturing carpets, until it finally found ways to produce carpets with negative carbon emissions. There was no one breakthrough that happened to achieve this – thousands of small carbon-reducing changes were made to the materials used in the carpet tiles and the manufacturing process until the negative carbon figure was achieved.

The carbon reduction policies of the company are also seen in its factories, which use renewable energy sources. The machines that make the carpets operate at low temperatures to save energy.

Carpet tiles in Chester and North Wales buildings may not be carbon negative, but European carpet manufacturers are using recycled materials in their tiles to reduce their carbon footprint. Carpets made from natural, sustainable wool are also an environmentally friendly carpet option.