By Jim Nicholson
Cynthia Schon, Facilities Manager
of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, had a major problem—5,530-square-yards of problem to be precise. Thanks to a gift from Grand Center, the Symphony was suddenly capable of replacing Powell Symphony HallÕs 15-year old
carpet. Carpet replacement presents
enough problemsÑit needs to be durable, color matched, practically tailored to fit the grand Powell Hall floor planÑbut Schon also hoped to accomplish the trade out in an ecologically sound manner. 5,530 square yards of champagne soaked, donut crunched, Grand Avenue sludged carpeting trod on by nearly 300,000 pairs of feet a year is a pretty massive addition to a land fill ("You don't really realize how much it is until you see it rolled up and going out on three or four big flatbeds," Schon explains.) and the number of years it would take to biodegrade is anybodyÕs guess.
Enter CI Select Flooring Solutions with both the winning bid and an environmental solution, which, according to General Manager Linda Goldstein, is simply absorbed by CI Select "as a cost of doing business".
CI Select has been actively involved with carpet reclamation since 1999 when the company began working with DuPont on a behind the scenes program initially designed to recycle carpet. DuPont has since spun
off its carpet division, the experimental
program has become a formal one and the focus has shifted from recycling to
reclamation. In the interim, CI Select
has been responsible for the reclamation
of over one million square yards of used
carpeting. That's enough to occupy a fleet
of flatbeds.
CI Select provides its reclamation service through the StarNet Commercial Flooring Cooperative, a national network of commercial flooring contractors. Instead of hauling the used carpeting to a landfill or placing it in a dumpster, CI Select stores it in its own warehouse until it can be shipped to a StarNet approved reclamation center. It is then separated from its backing and its components are converted into raw materials used to make a number of predictable (carpet padding) and surprising (concrete fillers) products. Environmentally, the approach is a major improvement over letting it decompose for a century or two in a landfill much too close to someone's home.
For CI Select, replacing the Powell Hall carpet was a challenge, but, having done the original, one with which they were more than familiar. According to Goldstein, one must "analyze the (existing) carpet and then assess the type of floor," because there are always technical advances and ways to make the new product "more performance oriented." Jim Woodside, who managed the project, found the Powell Hall installation "particularly challenging." "We had to use different finishing techniques (for different parts of the job). It was actually custom upholstery work." The curious need only look at the work surrounding the round column on the Powell Hall staircase to comprehend both the challenge and the solution.
Schon points out that the new carpet is custom dyed to match the Powell Hall paneling and that it is a different weave than the old carpet, which was cut pile. "It used to get split ends," says Schon, which would "catch the light and reflect it. It almost looked like it was glazed." The new carpet is a mix of two treatments known as tip-sheared, which has greater durability, but offers a more luxurious finish than the more "industrial-strength" styles. Because of all the technical details associated with the project, Schon reflects "it was so nice dealing with a
vendor (in whom) I already had complete confidence."
Vicki Woodside, director of Business Development at CI Select, explains that the firm provides each project an assessment of the needed requirements and desired image to provide a personalized flooring solution, recommends only durable products, provides professional installation by union installers, and focuses on the continuous care of resulting product providing both economic and environmental benefits. For Powell Hall, that attention to detail is pertinent. As Schon points out, Powell's initial carpet lasted until its 25th season and its replacement was in place through the 40th. The new one is expected to be in place for quite some time to come.
In putting the job out for bid, Schon
specified reclamation as part of the process, but, fearing sky-high bids, left the reclamation specifications vague. She did not require documentation—a standard portion of
CI Select's program, nor a certificate of reclamation—also a CI Select standard. Goldstein describes that reclamation as
simply a part of CI Select's day-to-day
environmental policy. The new carpet is stunning. Isn't it nice to know that, instead of coming to a landfill near you, the old one is being reclaimed and put to use?
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