About 3 billion m2 of floor coverings are produced every year in Europe. According to Mordor Intelligence’s 2020 report, carpets account for 34% while laminate and vinyl account for 15% and 10% respectively.
The value chains within the flooring sector are particularly complex and characterized by many challenges.
⦁ Industrial symbiosis with other sectors (plastics, construction, furniture, textile, etc.) is still largely missing;
⦁ National habits strongly affect consumer choices and eventually the market itself;
⦁ Products are often manufactured as a multi-material, solid composite that limits the possibility of separation and recycling;
⦁ Products’ longevity ranges between a just a few days (events’ carpets) to more than 20 years (commercial flooring);
⦁ There is a lack of knowledge about flooring products’ content at the end of the value chain.
Within this context, CISUFLO aims to set up a systemic action not only by working on novel circular products, but also by dealing with the waste streams generated by the current products in the years to come. CISUFLO products aim to enhance the current offering of sustainable floor coverings, ensuring they meet the same quality and performance standards.
The project will deliver improved sorting, separation & recycling technologies useful also for the current waste streams that are mostly incinerated or landfilled. It will generate policy briefs and recommendations supporting policy-making in the flooring sector. The links with the other sectors, both embedded within the consortium and nurtured through our Transition Support Group, enable to multiply the impact of CISUFLO results beyond the project itself.
