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REclaim. REcycle. REuse - Interface's new GlasBac® RE sustainable carpet backing & ReEntryT program

Interface Asia-Pacific is launching its latest advancement in sustainable carpet backings, GlasBac® RE, and their accompanying ReEntryT program which makes it easy for customers to recycle their used carpet.

Utilising a new technology, vinyl backings can be completely separated from the nylon carpet fibres of either used GlasBac®, GlasBac® RE carpet tiles and even other manufacturer's vinyl backed tiles, subject to a minimum quality standard.*  

Depending on yarn selection, GlasBac® RE tiles have a total recycled content by weight of 40% and up to in excess of 50%.  GlasBac® RE reduces the amount of virgin vinyl used by 49% when compared to our standard GlasBac®.  

GlasBac® RE provides the outstanding performance required for commercial applications. As the vinyl composite to make GlasBac® RE is essentially the same as virgin material, there is no degrading of dimensional stability in the finished product.

In fact, it is Interface's highest performing backing, with a 15-year warranty against delamination, stretching and shrinkage.  It also features Intersept® lifetime antimicrobial protection and is impermeable preventing moisture reaching the sub-floor.

Interface is the only modular carpet manufacturer in Australia utilising this technology.  The unique separation process allows the recycled backing to be reclaimed over and over again, making GlasBac® RE a sustainable, high performance backing.  

Interface's ReEntryT program is about making it easy for customers to recycle their used carpet tile, preventing it ending up in landfill.  Under a ReEntryT agreement, customers can simply ring and tell Interface where to pick up used vinyl-backed carpet tiles, including other manufacturer's vinyl-backed tiles, once it has been removed from the building.

While Interface's ReEntryT program does incur a small fee at the time of reclaiming the used carpet, it releases organisations from the responsibilities and costs associated with the disposal of their floorcoverings.  

With substantial increases in landfill fees in recent years that are expected to continue to rise, combined with the environmental cost of landfill, the ReEntryT alternative creates the raw materials for a closed loop recycling process.

Interface, since beginning its journey towards sustainability in 1994, has also actively redefined the organisation's culture, business practices and products, to become a leader in industrial ecology. Interface is involved in a number of initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region that actively take stewardship of the impact of our products throughout their lifecycle.  

The Cool CarpetT program, for example, offsets greenhouse gas emissions generated across the entire lifecycle of the carpet (raw material extraction, manufacture, distribution, administration, maintenance and end-of-life) through support of projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an equivalent amount.

Interface's latest product advancement, the i2 random lay ranges, both reduce manufacturing and installation waste while the products mergeable dye lot design can significantly extend the life of the product.