Carpet Recycling UK has met the University of Birmingham ARLI team at some of it’s networking events which has led to an understanding of how our sector could work with them to investigate and establish potential new outlets for textile flooring wastes.
CRUK is partnering with academics and scientists at the University to identify opportunities for the post-consumer material to be cleaned to a stage where it is considered suitable for use in the reuse and recycling applications. The study will also look to identify how the fibres can be extracted and used in a variety of applications, including construction and building sectors.
We are pleased to inform you that a consortium of companies within the West Midlands area are communicating with the ARLI team and have already held two meetings.  We have learnt that there is strength in numbers and that the quantity of research hours available to us through a larger consortium would be more beneficial. 
The study is fully funded by the ARLI. We would therefore like to open this opportunity to more companies in the West Midlands and request that you contact us if you are interested.

WHAT IS ARLI?

 Through the University of Birmingham, ARLI (Alternative Raw Materials with Low Impact) brings together a team of academics and engineers to work collaboratively with businesses in developing cost-effective products, packaging and processes, which provide efficiency gains in the use of raw and waste materials.
The project aims to identify waste streams or alternative innovative materials that could be transformed into higher value goods for a wide range of construction and manufacturing applications, contributing to the circular economy and ‘net zero’.

Qualification for support
If you are an SME with less than 250 employees, less than €50m turnover and are based in any of the following LEP areas (Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP, Black Country LEP, Coventry & Warwickshire LEP areas, The Marches LEP), you could be eligible for support.
The funded support from ARLI is available until June 2023, and companies can apply individually for support, although it is recommended that a consortium of companies will be more effective for this project to enable collation of a sum of hours available for the research and reporting.

You can access a PDF flyer here