Going round and moving forwards - the circularity of the flooring industry

Circular design and material circularity will be key as we seek to reduce waste and reduce the built environment’s carbon footprint. But what does this mean for the flooring industry, and how important are reuse and recycling principles? Donna Hannaway, Head of Marketing UK & Ireland at Forbo Flooring Systems explains. 

When it comes to the built environment, more needs to be done if we are to collectively meet the UK and global sustainability aims. At the heart of achieving this is the adoption of a circular approach to material choices.  

As specifiers, it is important to look at the raw materials that go into a product, the energy used during production, how it is installed on site, and how it can be reused or recycled once it reaches the end its current use life. Equally, as manufacturers, innovative and inclusive whole life design is essential if circularity is to realise its full potential of reducing both materials use and the built environment’s carbon footprint. This transition from a linear to a circular business model will not be easy – the scale of the opportunity is daunting, but a clear pathway is emerging that will help us achieve our aims. 

Take the flooring industry as an example. It is estimated that around three billion m2 of flooring is produced in Europe alone each year, with carpets accounting for around 34% of the total figure, 15% laminate and 10% vinyl. That is a mind-blowing amount – equivalent to around 375,000 football pitches. 

The flooring industry, like many others, still has a long way to go in truly embracing circularity. Some manufacturers are at the cutting edge of circular flooring – and it all starts with product development and design. 

Smart design aims to maximise the use of bio-based and recycled materials, minimising environmental impact and reducing embodied carbon. The leading example of this within the flooring industry is linoleum, widely regarded as one of the most sustainable floor coverings available on the market. With roots dating back to the mid-19th century, it is manufactured using rapidly renewable natural raw materials, including linseed oil, jute, pine rosin and wood or cork flour. 

Combining these materials and using renewable energy has resulted in some manufacturers offering linoleum that is independently certified as Climate Positive (carbon negative) from cradle to gate, without offsetting. This means that the CO2 produced in the extraction, transportation and manufacturing of the floor covering is more than balanced out by the removal of CO2 during the growth process of its natural materials. 

Reuse 

Re-using flooring has obvious environmental benefits, as it is often removed and replaced before its useful life is reached. However, we must not underestimate the social benefits that can be leveraged through re-use. Provided the original flooring is of high quality, it can have many different lives and uses, from a commercial office to helping to make a house a home for those most in need.  

Circularity heavily impacts this sector, and we are seeing the benefits that circular design brings through the development of adhesive free flooring. The adhesive that is traditionally used to attach floors to the substrate also contaminates the flooring product itself, making it difficult to reuse or recycle.  

There are various ways in which a flooring can be installed adhesive-free, including a simple ‘click’ mechanism, single and double-sided tapes, or IOBAC Mag Tabs and Tab-Its, a system that uses both magnetism and dry tack to provide a two-dimensional grip that locks the flooring in place. With minimal subfloor preparation required, adhesive-free flooring can even minimise installation waste and speed up the overall process, with reduced downtime and the new floor often able to be walked on immediately afterward. 

Adhesive-free flooring can also help facilitate improved indoor air quality, with no odours from the adhesive.  

Recycling  

As well as designing modular flooring that can be easily reused, materials need to be recyclable too. For example, linoleum consists of natural materials that are easy to recycle into new flooring, while vinyl can be recycled up to 10 times without any loss in performance.  

Through advancements in manufacturing and greener mindsets, we are seeing a rise in the volume of recycled content used in modern flooring solutions. A great example of this is Tessera Topology, Forbo’s latest carpet tile collection and the first to join its evolve+ series. It contains 75% recycled content, is manufactured using 100% renewable energy and has a very low embodied carbon from cradle to gate (less than 1.5kg CO2 per square metre eqv. A1-A3) which is achieved without offsetting. 

There can be numerous different ways to source this recycled content, such as  

sustainable yarns in carpet tiles, like the Thrive matter by Universal Fibers that is used in Tessera Topology - a 100% solution dyed nylon 6 which contains 90% recycled content. There are also various return schemes in action, whereby manufacturers accept installation offcuts or unwanted samples for recycling back into the production process.  

As well as contributing towards material circularity, such schemes can also reduce the amount of waste send to landfill, ensuring that the energy and materials invested in the production of the flooring is not wasted.  

It’s clear that the construction industry must work together as one, if we are to reduce our carbon emissions and our collective impact on the environment. Taking a circular approach will be essential in order to achieve this. 

www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/sustainability