This capability makes the company a highly affordable alternative to trucking that same waste to the landfill. Recovery 1 is the newest partner in King County's LinkUp program, launched this spring to encourage businesses and manufacturers to incorporate more recycled materials into their products. The program, sponsored by the King County Commission for Marketing Recyclable Materials, offers free information resources, technical expertise and promotional assistance to eligible businesses throughout the Puget Sound area. Recovery 1 takes in is wood waste, a major recycling concern in the Northwest. Wood from construction and demolition sites must be disposed of as well as tree stumps cleared from land intended for construction or agricultural use.
Some manufacturers generate recyclable waste wood as well.
The wood chips are sold primarily to pulp and paper mills. Most carpet is separated from other wastes and disposed of in landfills because there is little market for it. The LinkUp team will help Recovery 1 evaluate options for recycling scrap carpet and will assess higher end-use markets for urban wood. Technical assistance will include designing and completing a material acceptability study for recycled carpet to help scrap-carpet purchasers decide whether the material is acceptable for their uses. The team also plans to evaluate the potential markets for reconditioned and reused carpeting, and provide marketing assistance, as well.