Carpet recycling facility opens on Milwaukee’s northwest side

Carpet Landfill Elimination and Recycling (CLEAR), a new carpet recycling business, has started operations near the intersection of North 76th Street and West Florist Avenue on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
CLEAR was founded by Nick Fiore, president of Surfaces Transport Inc. The firm expects to have 12 to 15 employees by January, when it is scheduled to begin processing carpet into pellets. The pellets will be sold to carpet and plastics manufacturers, who will use them to manufacture new products.
Kerns Carpet One is now sending old carpet that its installers remove to the facility, where it will eventually be recycled.
“Carpet doesn’t decompose, so it doesn’t do the environment any good having it take up space in landfills,” said Bill Kerns, president of Kerns Carpet One.  “We think preserving our environment is the right thing to do, and the feedback from our customers shows they appreciate it as well.”