Renasci™ is a breakthrough circular flooring innovation developed by Milliken in partnership with saveBOARD, transforming difficult-to-recycle carpet and soft plastic waste into a high-performance, resilient flooring made from 80% carpet waste and 20% soft plastic waste, a product designed for repeated recycling.

Each year, an estimated 90,000 tonnes of carpet waste is sent to landfill across Australia and New Zealand. Traditional carpet recycling is complex and costly due to the multiple bonded material layers that are difficult to separate. Rather than attempting to dismantle carpet into its individual components, Milliken challenged conventional thinking by repurposing the material in its entirety.

In collaboration with saveBOARD, Milliken developed a pioneering manufacturing process that shreds end-of-life carpet tiles alongside consumer soft plastics, including supermarket bags, before pressing them into durable flooring planks without the use of chemical adhesives or bonding agents. The result is a closed-loop flooring solution made entirely from waste materials previously destined for landfill.

The innovation extends beyond end-of-life recovery, incorporating installation off-cuts and manufacturing waste streams into the recycling process. Importantly, Renasci™ provides an alternative to traditional hard flooring and LVT products, which themselves contribute significant waste to landfill annually.

The project required more than two years of intensive research and development to refine the ideal material composition, balancing strength, flexibility, wear resistance and finish. A major breakthrough was the development of a mechanically applied scratch-resistant top layer without chemical adhesives.

Renasci™ demonstrates the power of collaboration between industry leaders committed to circularity and product stewardship. By rethinking waste as a valuable resource, Milliken and saveBOARD have created an innovative flooring solution with the potential to transform the global flooring industry and redefine sustainable manufacturing for future generations.