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Trusty Carpets Statement of Work
Background. Trusty Carpets has been selling carpets for 20 years from their store
located in a strip mall that, over the past few years, has become a busy shopping center.
The location is in what had been a quiet town near a large city, but recent area growth
has resulted in many new homes being built. The town council is now considering
ordinances to create zones to protect unique architecture, improve overall property
condition, and protect the environment. Their focus is on creating an up-scale
community attracting “clean” businesses to improve the quality of life and its tax base.
The current business model. Since opening the Trusty Carpets store, the owner has
advertised in the local paper and done all of her business in her showroom where she
has carpet samples on display. Ann Montgomery (owner) hired two people for sales to
serve customers in the store. One is her son Jerry, who she would like to take over the
business when she retires. Since she has little storage space, Ann’s inventory has been
limited to overstock, end pieces from installations, and samples. When a customer
makes a selection from the samples, the salesman checks the manufacturer’s
information to determine the availability of the selected carpet and the current price.
Ann’s brother-in-law, Mike Baker, has a carpet installation business and has been subcontracting the installation of the carpets sold by Trusty Carpets. The sales staff
coordinates installation with the customer and with Mike.
Trusty Carpets employs an accountant (who has other customers and does his work at
his own office) to keep track of corporate finances, pay bills, send invoices, collect
payments, and do payroll. Ann’s finances are very straight-forward, and she uses the
accountant only because she does not like to do the paperwork. Therefore, she pays this
accountant $12,000 annually the secure the services.
Trusty Carpets sells about 250,000 square feet of carpet a year (70% of it is mid-grade
carpet and padding) for sales of about $1.2 million. This results in a net profit of about
$100,000. Corporate costs are in line with industry averages but profits are below the
averages. This is attributed to keeping prices low to be more competitive and to
growing the business.
Technology support. The Trusty Carpets store has a basic information technology (IT)
infrastructure with an internet connection. There is a computer with a multi-purpose
printer (scanner/fax/printer) in the owner’s office. It is connected to a router supplied
by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). The router also provides a wireless network within
the store. Both sales and customer service staff have tablet computers that they use to
check carpet availability and price, and to enter and check orders. Order forms are
simple Google document forms that are stored in the Google cloud and are shared
among the employees and with the installer and the accountant. Ann and the customer
service people each have a Gmail account. One of the salesmen, Ben (who has been
Trusty Carpets Statement of Work-April 30, 2023
with Ann six years), is studying IT at the local community college. He set up the current
technology in the store just six months ago. Ann expects Ben to learn about any new
technology that gets installed and help solve minor in-store IT problems. She does not,
however, want Ben to be distracted from sales.
Recent changes. Trusty Carpets has been quite successful and has recently acquired
Metro Carpets, a store on the other side of town. Metro Carpets had a large showroom
and an adjoining 20,000 square foot warehouse, both of which are now part of the
Trusty Carpets enterprise. The showroom contains two display rooms, one a living room
with their top line carpet and one a family room with mid-line carpet. The remaining
display space is for samples and remnants, including a small area for closeouts. The
warehouse is about 50% utilized. It contains rolls of the top line carpet in a wide range
of popular colors for immediate installation. Although it is a relatively large business,
the previous owner was not well organized, had no IT at the store, and kept all of his
customer records and carpet inventory in hand-written ledgers. Ann plans to retain the
former Metro Carpets staff of three people in sales and two people in the warehouse.
She also wants to expand sales in his original store. Metro Carpets generated about $3
million in annual sales at a 12% profit. Costs are in line with industry averages. Carpet
sold at Metro Carpets breaks down as follows: 10% bottom grade, 50% mid-grade and
40% top-of-the-line.
Additionally, Trusty Carpets and the owner of the installation firm have jointly decided
to combine the installation business into a single carpet sales and installation business
enterprise, continuing the entity name of Trusty Carpets. Although they have
completed the merger, they still want to review the impact of an Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) initiative, the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) Program. This
program is designed to improve the rate of carpet recycling to lower greenhouse gas
emissions. Ann feels recycling is important and wants to be able to make the
appropriate business accommodations. Mike runs his business out of his home since all
of the work is done in customers’ homes. He has two installation teams (two people
each) and installation equipment is stored in the trucks. Mike expects to increase the
number of installation teams since Ann acquired Metro Carpets. Mike’s wife Carol
handles the bookkeeping, and while all of their work is paper-based, they are well
organized. He earns about $1.50/square foot for his services.
The opportunities. With the expansion of the Trusty Carpets business enterprise, Trusty
Carpets now needs to be able to manage the two separate locations and the installation
operation as a single enterprise. They are also looking at ways to increase business
through internet sales, establishing relationships with new home builders, and in-home
sales where they believe they could reach more customers if their sales staff could go to
customers’ homes, take measurements and obtain orders. Ann’s sister Elenore is
studying interior decorating in college and she wants to reach out to the interior
decorating community to expand enterprise sales as well. Additionally, Trusty Carpets is
committed to be environmentally responsible. To do this they will need to allocate
Trusty Carpets Statement of Work-April 30, 2023
warehouse space to accommodate recyclable carpet. The installers would bring the
used carpet to the warehouse, and the carpet would then be picked up by a recycler
monthly at no cost.
The role of your team. Trusty Carpets is offering to contract with your team to
evaluate their needs and recommend which technologies they should acquire and to
develop the Business Case Proposal for what you recommend. Trusty Carpets has as
their primary business objectives to continue to increase profit margins while
implementing an appropriate technology that can convert them into a technical
business enterprise as the business expands. They will use the Business Case Proposal
to decide whether they can and should invest in the technology solution your team is
proposing. Through the Business Case Proposal, your team must convince Trusty
Carpets that you have a well-conceived plan that meets their enterprise objectives and
has the potential of increasing sales and profitability.
Your team is to develop and explain how your proposed technology solution addresses
their business need. As a team, you will decide which technology or combination of
technologies would benefit this business the most and develop an implementation
schedule.
Your Business Case Proposal must be well-written as a formal proposal and at a level
that could best be understood by the business people, including an explanation of the
solution, its enterprise architecture, its cost structure and return on investment, and
how it would be implemented, with a focus on being compliant, consistent, and
compelling.
Your team will have eight weeks to develop this final Business Case Proposal, section by
section as a composite document. You will include a weekly review cycle that ensures
compliance with your client’s requirements.
MEMO FOR RECORD
These are the notes taken during interviews with the owner and staff of Trusty Carpets,
and their resulting statement of work (SOW). You are not to use any of the personally
identifiable information (PII) provided here. Refer to the other documents provided,
including EPA WARM, the Instructions to Offerors, and Building a Business Case
Proposal, which together provides the instructions, technical and writing requirements,
and evaluation criteria.
Trusty Carpets Statement of Work-April 30, 2023
WARM Version 14
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CARPET
3.1 INTRODUCTION TO WARM AND CARPET
This chapter describes the methodology used in EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to
estimate streamlined life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission factors for carpet beginning at the point
of waste generation. The WARM GHG emission factors are used to compare the net emissions
associated with carpet in the following four materials management alternatives: source reduction,
recycling, landfilling, and combustion. For background information on the general purpose and function
of WARM emission factors, see the WARM Background & Overview chapter. For more information on
Source Reduction, Recycling, Landfilling, and Combustion, see the chapters devoted to those processes.
WARM also allows users to calculate results in terms of energy, rather than GHGs. The energy results
are calculated using the same methodology described here but with slight adjustments, as explained in
the Energy Impacts chapter.
At the end of its useful life, carpet can be recovered for recycling, sent to a landfill or
combusted. Landfilling is the most commonly selected waste management option for carpet. According
to EPA (2011), 9 percent of carpet is recycled annually. Efforts by industry, EPA, and other organizations
over the past few years have increased the fraction of waste carpet that is recycled.
WARM accounts for the four predominant materials constituting face fibers in residential
carpeting: Nylon 6, Nylon 6-6, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Polypropylene (PET). Because the
composition of commercial carpet is different than that of residential carpet, the emission factors
presented in this chapter and in WARM only apply to broadloom residential carpet. The components of
nylon broadloom residential carpet in this analysis include: face fiber, primary and secondary backing
and latex used for attaching the backings.
Exhibit 3-1 shows the general outline of materials management pathways in WARM and how
they are modeled for carpet. Recycling carpet is an open-loop process, meaning that components are
recycled into secondary materials such as carpet pad, molded products and carpet backing. In WARM,
the life-cycle energy and material requirements for converting recycled carpet into these various
secondary end products were unavailable (Realff, 2010a). Therefore, in the recycling pathway, the
recycling benefits for carpet incorporate the avoided manufacture of the various virgin plastic resins
only. Carpet is collected curbside and at special recovery events, or individuals can bring it to designated
drop-off sites. Once carpet has been collected for recycling, it is sent to material recovery facilities that
specialize in separating and recovering materials from carpet. Building on Exhibit 3-1, a more detailed
flow diagram of the recycling pathway for carpet is provided in Exhibit 3-2.
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Exhibit 3-1: Life Cycle of Carpet in WARM
Since the original development of the carpet material type energy and GHG emission factors for
WARM in 2004, updated life-cycle data for the recycling pathway which more accurately reflect carpet
composition and recycling input energy have become available (Realff, 2011b). The updates include
revisions to include two additional types of plastics found in the face fibers of residential broadloom
carpets as well as the incorporation of the loss rates within the carpet recycling process. Updated
information on the source reduction and landfilling life-cycle pathways for carpet was not available.
Therefore, this update to the carpet factors in WARM includes changes only to the recycling and
combustion pathways.
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Exhibit 3-2: Detailed Recycling Flows for Carpet in WARM
3.2 LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND EMISSION FACTOR RESULTS
The life-cycle boundaries in WARM start at the point of waste generation, or the moment a
material is discarded, and only consider upstream emissions when the production of materials is
affected by end-of-life materials management decisions. Recycling and source reduction are the two
materials management options that impact the upstream production of materials and consequently are
the only management options that include upstream GHG emissions. For more information on
evaluating upstream emissions, see the chapters on Recycling and Source Reduction.
WARM includes source reduction, recycling, landfilling, and combustion pathways for materials
management of carpet. Composting and anaerobic digestion are not included as pathways for materials
management of carpet. As Exhibit 3-3 illustrates, most of the GHG emissions from end-of-life
management of carpet occur from waste management of this product, while most of the GHG savings
occur from offsetting upstream raw materials acquisition and the manufacturing of other secondary
materials that are recovered from carpet.
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Exhibit 3-3: Carpet GHG Sources and Sinks from Relevant Materials Management Pathways
Materials Management
Strategies for Carpet
Source Reduction
Composting
Recycling
Landfilling
Combustion
Anaerobic Digestion
GHG Sources and Sinks Relevant to Carpet
Changes in
Forest or Soil
Raw Materials Acquisition and
Manufacturing
Carbon Storage
End-of-Life
Offsets
NA
NA
· Transport of raw materials and
intermediate products
· Virgin process energy
· Virgin process non-energy
· Transport of carpet to point of
sale
Not applicable because carpet cannot be anaerobically digested
Emissions
NA
Emissions
· Transport of recycled materials
· Collection of carpet and
transportation to recycling
· Recycled process energy
center
· Recycled process non-energy
· De-manufacturing and
Offsets
reprocessing recovered carpet
· Emissions from producing
Nylon 6, Nylon 6-6, PET and PP
plastic resins from virgin
material
NA
NA
Emissions
· Transport to landfill
· Landfilling machinery
NA
NA
Emissions
· Transport to WTE facility
· Combustion-related CO2
Offsets
· Avoided electric utility
emissions
Not applicable because carpet cannot be anaerobically digested
NA = Not applicable.
WARM analyzes all of the GHG sources and sinks outlined in Exhibit 3-4 and calculates net GHG
emissions per short ton of carpet inputs. For more detailed methodology on emission factors, please
see the sections below on individual materials management strategies.
Exhibit 3-4: Net Emissions for Carpet under Each Materials Management Option (MTCO 2E/Short Ton)
Material
Carpet
Net Source
Reduction (Reuse)
GHG Emissions For
Current Mix of
Inputsa
-3.83
Net Recycling
Emissions
-2.36
Net
Composting
Emissions
NA
Net
Landfilling
Emissions
0.02
Net
Combustion
Emissions
1.09
Net
Anaerobic
Digestion
Emissions
NA
a The current mix of inputs for carpet is considered to be 100% virgin material.
Note: Negative values denote net GHG emission reductions or carbon storage from a materials management practice.
NA = Not applicable.
3.3 RAW MATERIALS ACQUISITION AND MANUFACTURING
The components of nylon broadloom residential carpet in this analysis include: face fiber,
primary and secondary backing and latex used for attaching the backings. The face fiber used for nylon
carpet is typically made of a combination of Nylon 6, Nylon 6-6, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and
Polypropylene (PP). For the purpose of developing an emission factor that represents “typical”
broadloom residential carpet, WARM reflects the market share of each material in the carpet industry.
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Carpet backing for broadloom carpet typically consists of polypropylene (PP). For latex used to adhere
carpet backings, EPA modeled styrene butadiene, the most common latex used for this purpose. Styrene
butadiene latex is commonly compounded with a filler such as calcium carbonate (limestone). Inputs to
the manufacture of nylon, PP and styrene butadiene are crude oil and/or natural gas. Exhibit 3-5
provides the assumed material composition of the typical carpet used for this analysis (FAL, 2002, Realff,
2011b).
Exhibit 3-5: Material Composition of One Short Ton of Carpet
Material
Nylon, PET, PP mix
PP
Styrene butadiene latex
Limestone
Total
Application
% of Total Weight
45%
15%
8%
32%
100%
Face Fiber
Woven for backing
Carpet backing adhesive
Filler in latex adhesive
Weight (lbs.) (Assuming
2,000 lbs. of Carpet)
910
304
164
648
2,026 lbs.a
a Note that these values total 2,026 pounds, which is greater than one short ton. This is because 26 pounds of the raw materials used to
manufacture carpet are assumed to be “lost” during the manufacturing process. In other words, producing one short ton of carpet actually
requires slightly more than one short ton of raw materials (FAL, 2002).
The main polymers that are used for the face fiber are Nylon 6-6, Nylon 6, PET, and PP with very
small amounts of wool and a growing interest in the use of bio-based fibers. The average proportion of
each of these plastic resins in carpet face fibers is provided in Exhibit 6. These components are
recovered and recycled in different ways, each consuming different amounts of energy. For example,
Nylon 6 face fiber is recycled mostly through depolymerization, whereas Nylon 6-6 face fiber is recycled
mainly through shaving the fiber followed by remelting and extrusion.
Exhibit 3-6: Residential Face Fiber Mix 1995-2000
Plastic Resin
Nylon 6
Nylon 6-6
PET
PP
Total Face Fiber
% of Total Weight
40%
25%
15%
20%
100%
Source: Realff, 2011b
The process used to turn the components in Exhibit 3-5 into a finished carpet may include
weaving, tufting, needlepunching and/or knitting. According to the Carpet and Rug Institute, 95 percent
of carpet produced in the United States is tufted (CRI, 2010). During tufting, face pile yarns are rapidly
sewn into a primary backing by a wide multineedled machine. After the face pile yarns are sewn into the
primary backing, a layer of latex is used to secure a secondary backing, which adds strength and
dimensional stability to the carpet.
3.4 MATERIALS MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
This analysis considers source reduction, recycling, landfilling, and combustion of carpet. It is
important to note that carpet is not recycled into new carpet; instead, it is recycled in an open loop
process. The life-cycle assessment of carpet disposal must take into account the variety of secondgeneration products made from recycled carpet. Information on carpet recycling and the resulting
second-generation products is sparse; however, EPA has modeled pathways for which consistent data
are available for recycled carpet components. As described previously, due to unavailable life-cycle data
on the manufacture of second-generation products from recycled carpet, EPA modeled only the
remanufacture of the various virgin plastic resins (i.e., one step before the resins are used to
manufacture the second-generation products such as carpet pad, molded products and carpet backing).
Please see Exhibit 2 for the process flow diagram that illustrates these boundaries.
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The data source used to develop the emissions factor for source reduction is a 2002 report
published by Franklin Associates Limited (FAL) on energy and GHG emission factors for the manufacture
and end-of-life management of carpet (FAL, 2002). These data were based on a number of industry and
academic data sources dating from the 1990s and 2000s. The background data for the development of
the source reduction carpet emission factors are available in an EPA background document associated
with the FAL 2002 report (EPA, 2003). The data source used to develop the open-loop recycling emission
factor for carpet is based on updated data from Dr. Matthew Realff of Georgia Institute of Technology
(Georgia Tech). His findings were informed by the 2009 Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) 2009
annual report, which provided a breakdown of the components of carpet face fiber polymer (CARE,
2009). In 2011, Dr. Realff collected data in collaboration with the carpet industry that provided the
energy inputs used to recycle carpet face fiber into plastic constituents (Realff, 2011b). Dr. Realff
provided the life-cycle data for recycling carpet in a spreadsheet designed for incorporation into WARM
(Realff, 2011c).
3.4.1
Source Reduction
Source reduction activities reduce the amount of carpet that is produced, thereby reducing GHG
emissions from carpet production. Source reduction of carpet can be achieved through using less
carpeting material per square foot (i.e., thinner carpet) or by finding a way to make existing carpet last
longer through cleaning or repair. For more information on this practice, see the Source Reduction
chapter.
Exhibit 7 outlines the GHG emission factor for source reducing carpet. GHG benefits of source
reduction are calculated as the avoided emissions from raw materials acquisition and manufacturing
(RMAM) of new carpet.
Exhibit 3-7: Source Reduction Emission Factor for Carpet (MTCO2E/Short Ton)
Material
Carpet
Raw Material
Acquisition and
Manufacturing
for Current Mix
of Inputs
-3.82
Raw Material
Acquisition and
Manufacturing
for 100% Virgin
Inputs
-3.82
Forest Carbon
Storage for
Current Mix of
Inputs
NA
Forest Carbon
Storage for
100% Virgin
Inputs
NA
Net Emissions
for Current
Mix of Inputs
-3.82
Net
Emissions
for 100%
Virgin Inputs
-3.82
Note: Negative values denote net GHG emission reductions or carbon storage from a materials management practice.
Information on the share of recycled inputs used in production is unavailable or is not a common practice; EPA assumes that the current mix is
comprised of 100% virgin inputs. Consequently, the source reduction benefits of both the “current mix of inputs” and “100% virgin inputs” are
the same.
NA = Not applicable.
Post-consumer emissions are the emissions associated with materials management pathways
that could occur at end-of-life. Source reducing carpet does not involve post-consumer emissions
because production of the material is avoided in the first place. Forest products are not used in the
production of carpet; therefore, forest carbon storage is not applicable to carpet and thus does not
contribute to the source reduction emission factor.
3.4.1.1
Developing the Emission Factor for Source Reduction of Carpet
To calculate the avoided GHG emissions for carpet, EPA looks at three components of GHG
emissions from RMAM activities: process energy, transportation energy and process non-energy GHG
emissions. Exhibit 8 shows the results for each component and the total GHG emission factor for source
reduction. More information on each component making up the final emission factor is provided in the
remainder of this section.
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Exhibit 3-8: Raw Material Acquisition and Manufacturing Emission Factor for Virgin Production of Carpet
(MTCO2E/Short Ton)
(a)
(b)
Material
Process Energy
Carpet
3.22
(c)
(d)
Transportation Energy
0.10
Process Non-Energy
0.50
(e)
Net Emissions
(e = b + c + d)
3.82
FAL (2002) reports the amount of energy required to produce one short ton of carpet as 60.32
million Btu. FAL (2002) also provided the fuel mix that makes up this energy estimate. To estimate GHG
emissions, EPA multiplied the fuel consumption (in Btu) by the fuel-specific carbon contents. Summing
the resulting GHG emissions, by fuel type, gives the total process energy GHG emissions, including both
CO2 and CH4, from all fuel types used in carpet manufacture (Exhibit 3-9).
Exhibit 3-9: Process Energy GHG Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet
Process Energy per Short Ton Made
from Virgin Inputs (Million Btu)
60.32
Material
Carpet
Process Energy GHG Emissions
(MTCO2E/Short Ton)
3.22
Transportation energy emissions come from fossil fuels used to transport carpet raw materials
and intermediate products. The methodology for estimating these emissions is the same as that for
process energy emissions. Based upon estimated total carpet transportation energy in Btu, EPA
calculates the total emissions using fuel-specific carbon coefficients (Exhibit 3-10).
Exhibit 3-10: Transportation Energy Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet
Transportation Energy per Short Ton
Made from Virgin Inputs (Million Btu)
1.36
Material
Carpet
Transportation Energy GHG Emissions
(MTCO2E/Short Ton)
0.10
Note: The transportation energy and emissions in this exhibit do not include retail transportation.
Process non-energy GHG emissions occur during manufacture but are not related to combusting
fuel for energy. For carpet, non-energy GHGs are emitted in the use of solvents or chemical treatments.
FAL provided data on GHG emissions from non-energy-related processes in units of pounds of native gas
(2002). We convert pounds of gas per 1,000 lbs of carpet to metric tons of gas per short ton of carpet
and then multiply that by the ratio of carbon to gas to produce the emission factor in MTCO2E per short
ton of carpet, as detailed in the example below, showing the calculation of CH4 process non-energy
emissions for carpet. Exhibit 3-11 shows the components for estimating process non-energy GHG
emissions for carpet.
2.72 lbs CH4/1,000 lbs carpet × 2,000 lbs carpet/1 short ton carpet × 1 metric ton CH4/2,205 lbs CH4 =
0.0025 MT CH4/short ton carpet
0.0025 MT CH4/short ton carpet × 25 MTCO2E/metric ton CH4 = 0.06 MTCO2E/short ton carpet
Exhibit 3-11: Process Non-Energy Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet
Material
Carpet
CO2
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton)
0.01
CH4
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton)
0.00
CF4 Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton)
–
– = Zero emissions.
3-7
C2F6
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton)
–
N2O
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton)
0.00
Non-Energy
Carbon
Emissions
(MTCO2E/Short
Ton)
0.50
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3.4.2
Recycling
This section describes the development of the recycling emission factor, which is shown in the
final column of Exhibit 3-12. For more information on recycling in general, please see the Recycling
chapter. As mentioned previously, updated life-cycle data for recycling carpet were available from Dr.
Matthew Realff of Georgia Tech. His findings were informed by the 2009 Carpet America Recovery Effort
(CARE) 2009 annual report, which provided a breakdown of the components of carpet face fiber
polymers in conjunction with the collaboration with the carpet industry to collect data that provided the
energy inputs used to recycle carpet face fiber plastic constituents.
Exhibit 3-12: Recycling Emission Factor for Carpet (MTCO2E/Short Ton)
Material
Carpet
Raw Material
Acquisition and
Manufacturing
(Current Mix of
Inputs)
–
Materials
Managemen
t Emissions
Recycled
Input
Credita
Process
Energy
Recycled Input
Credita –
Transportation
Energy
Recycled
Input
Credita –
Process
Non-Energy
Forest Carbon
Sequestration
Net
Emissions
(PostConsumer)
–
-1.41
-0.01
-0.94
–
-2.36
a Includes emissions from the virgin production of secondary materials.
Note: Negative values denote net GHG emission reductions or carbon storage from a materials management practice.
NA = Not applicable.
In WARM, EPA models open-loop recycling of carpet into a mixture of following plastic resins:
Nylon 6, Nylon 6-6, PET and PP. The resulting plastic resins produced from the open-loop recycling
process will then be converted into a number of products including new carpet fiber, molded or
extruded plastics and plastic pellets. The additional energy and resultant GHG emissions from the
conversion of the recycled plastic resins into these final secondary products were not available.
Therefore, the recycling benefits for carpet are limited to the avoided energy and GHG emissions
associated with virgin plastic resin manufacture.
The recycled input credits shown in Exhibit 3-12 include all of the GHG emissions associated with
collecting, transporting, processing and recycling or remanufacturing carpet into secondary materials.
None of the upstream GHG emissions from manufacturing the carpet in the first place are included;
instead, WARM calculates a “recycled input credit” by assuming that the recycled material avoids—or
offsets—the GHG emissions associated with producing the same amount of secondary resins from virgin
inputs. The eventual secondary products those resins are then used to manufacture are not factored
into WARM’s calculations. Consequently, GHG emissions associated with management (i.e., collection,
transportation and processing) of end-of-life carpet are included in the recycling credit calculation. Since
carpet does not contain any wood products, there are no recycling benefits associated with forest
carbon storage. The GHG benefits from the recycled input credits are discussed further below.
EPA calculates the GHG benefits of recycling carpet by comparing the difference between the
emissions associated with manufacturing a short ton of each of the four resins derived from recycled
carpet and the emissions from manufacturing the same ton from virgin materials, after accounting for
losses that occur in the recycling process. WARM assumes that both recycled Nylon 6-6 fiber and Nylon
6-6 pellets displace the virgin production of Nylon 6-6 resin. These results are then weighted by the
distribution shown in Exhibit 3-13 to obtain a composite emission factor for recycling one short ton of
carpet. This recycled input credit is composed of GHG emissions from process energy, transportation
energy and process non-energy.
Exhibit 3-13: Secondary Resins Produced from Recycled Carpet Fibers
Material
Percent of Recovered Carpet Face Fiber
Nylon 6 Fiber
54.02%
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Percent of Recovered Carpet Face Fiber
Nylon 6-6 Fiber
Nylon 6-6 Pellet
PET Fiber
6.72%
23.07%
7.71%
PP Fiber
8.62%
Source: Realff, 2011b
To calculate each component of the recycling emission factor, EPA follows five steps, which are
described in detail below.
Step 1. Calculate emissions from virgin production of one short ton of secondary resin.
We apply fuel-specific carbon coefficients to the life-cycle data for virgin RMAM of each
secondary resin (FAL, 2010, Plastics Europe, 2005). The life-cycle data for virgin production of Nylon 6
and Nylon 6-6 were unavailable for production of these resins in the United States. Thus, life-cycle data
for the production of these resins in the European context were used as a proxy (Plastics Europe, 2005).
Life-cycle data for the production of PET and PP resins are the same as used in the development of the
PET and PP emission factors in WARM (FAL, 2011). The upstream life-cycle data also incorporate
transportation and process non-energy data. The calculations for virgin process, transportation and
process non-energy emissions for the secondary resins are presented in Exhibit 14, Exhibit 15, and
Exhibit 16, respectively.
Exhibit 3-14: Process Energy GHG Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet Secondary Resins
Process Energy per Short Ton Made
from Virgin Inputs (Million Btu)
112.16
122.40
28.43
23.72
Material
Nylon 6
Nylon 6-6
PET
PP
Energy Emissions (MTCO2E/Short Ton
Carpet)
6.60
7.45
1.74
1.17
Exhibit 3-15: Transportation Energy Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet Secondary Resins
Transportation Energy per Short Ton
Made from Virgin Inputs (Million Btu)
1.05
0.82
1.00
2.36
Material
Nylon 6
Nylon 6-6
PET
PP
Transportation Emissions
(MTCO2E/Short Ton Carpet)
0.07
0.05
0.07
0.13
Exhibit 3-16: Process Non-Energy Emissions Calculations for Virgin Production of Carpet Secondary Resins
Material
Nylon 6
Nylon 6-6
PET
PP
CO2
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton Carpet)
1.04
0.84
0.27
0.07
CH4
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton Carpet)
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
CF4
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton Carpet)
–
–
–
–
C2F6
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton Carpet)
–
–
–
–
N2O
Emissions
(MT/Short
Ton Carpet)
0.01
0.00
–
0.00
Non-Energy
Carbon Emissions
(MTCO2E/Short
Ton)
3.43
1.08
0.39
0.21
– = Zero emissions.
Step 2. Calculate emissions from recyc
