February 2025

While presenting at a conference of sustainable construction leaders last fall, CARE Market Development Manager Rob Thiess learned about ANEW – a woman-founded and led nonprofit that for 20 years has been working with companies to steward surplus office furniture and other items back into their communities and away from landfill. Based in Los Angeles with a presence across the country, ANEW finds reuse options for much of what is left behind by tenants and building owners. Rob reached out, and in November, Rose Tourje from ANEW contacted Rob about a large project for a multi-national manufacturer located in El Segundo, California. Both surplus furniture and carpet tile were underway for stewardship!

Due to a brand makeover, 12 floors of Interface’s PVC-backed tile (an estimated 100,000 square feet) in good condition will ultimately be removed in six phases, completed late this year. Phase I tear-out was tricky: people were still working on the floors where demolition was happening, and there was almost no storage space. CARE provided guidance to ANEW for onsite collection of the carpet tiles, which were stacked, strapped, and wrapped. CARE then worked with Repurpose Earth, a business focused on finding reuse opportunities for carpet tile, to identify reuse options and found a match for Phase I.  Phase One of the project was completed in December and resulted in eleven pallets of carpet tile, weighing almost 17,000 pounds, being sent to two churches for reuse. Phase Two is scheduled for early spring, and ANEW is actively seeking additional organizations to donate the materials to.

The California Carpet Stewardship Program continues to work to increase the amount of commercial carpet for reuse and recycle. Commercial broadloom or carpet tile jobs of more than 5,000 square yards may be eligible for their free takeback program. Together, CARE and ANEW are doing what's right with what's left.®