Desso, a Tarkett company, a leading European carpet manufacturer with its Middle East & Africa regional headquarters in Dubai, has launched a unique recycling initiative for carpets in the region.

International commercial law firm, Holman Fenwick Willan became the first client to sign up for the carpet Take Back programme.

The firm chose to refresh its Downtown Dubai-located office flooring using Desso’s patented AirMaster product, which is able to capture and retain potentially harmful fine dust particles, lowering the concentration in an indoor environment by as much as eight times, compared with smooth flooring solutions, and four times lower than with standard carpet.

Under the Take Back agreement, Desso removed the firm’s existing 3,500-kilogramme carpet, and sent it to the company’s Refinity Plant in Holland for recycling. Desso also presented Holman Fenwick Willan with a Take Back certificate to guarantee that material is recycled according to its corporate Cradle to Cradle principles.

“According to Dubai Municipality, the emirate produces around 7,000 tonnes of general waste each day – the equivalent of nine Olympic-sized swimming pools – of which, 35 per cent of the total generated waste sent to UAE landfills is considered to be recyclable, there is a clear need for companies as well as individuals to do more to reduce this figure,” said Andre Dulka, regional director, Middle East, Africa & India, Desso.

“More than 1,430 tonnes of post-consumer carpet was recycled in 2014, an increase of 84% from 2011, and with our first Middle East client getting the ball rolling in this region, we hope to see more companies pursue their environmental awareness agenda and support successful eco responsibility initiatives such as our Take Back programme,” said Dulka.

Rula Dajani Abuljebain, Holman Fenwick Willan's Middle East managing partner said: "Our support for Desso's carpet Take Back programme forms part of our commitment to being a responsible business. As an international law firm, we are conscious of our impact on the environment and are always looking at ways to mitigate that impact through initiatives such as this. We are delighted to have been able to avoid waste going to landfill and instead make sure it is fully recycled."

The initiative is part of Desso’s Cradle to Cradle concept, under which the company designs products that can be recycled infinitely and without quality losses, in a technical or biological loop.

“Millions of sq m of worn-out carpet is potentially discarded every year, and this prompted Desso to look at ways in which to counter the negative environmental impact and, at the same time, spread a positive message about the value of recycling,” remarked Dulka. – TradeArabia News Service