ResiLoop is a product stewardship scheme whose purpose is to enable recovery and recycling of resilient flooring in Australia, contributing to reduced landfilling of building and construction waste. Over 95% of these products are imported into Australia; there is little existing local manufacturing to advance recycling of floorcoverings.

By bringing leading global floorcovering brands together (currently 15) under one scheme, ResiLoop raises funds through a levy of 9 cents per square metre of in-scope products sold. This funds the collection of waste, the investment in development of new end markets for recovered resources, and education to drive a circularity mindset across the value chain.

Currently working with one recycler, ResiLoop collects vinyl installation offcuts (‘clean’ waste). Investment in research and development is driving potential solutions for the hard-to-recycle uplifted floorcoverings, and to identify suitable technologies and processes for different product types (rubber, linoleum, Hybrid tiles etc).

Since commencing on 1 September 2024, 44 Collection Points have been registered in four states, at floor contractors’ and retailers’ sites. A process to bag offcuts of any of ResiLoop’s members’ products on installation project sites and return them to a ResiLoop bin is implemented. Collection Points use an App to log a request for the bin to be collected, to track waste collected from a specific project or client, and to request more collection bags.

To protect recyclate and avoid contamination, quality criteria for offcuts is defined. To date, the quality of collected material has been very good.

Recovered material is delivered to ResiLoop’s Recycling Partner and made into garden edging and composite decking products. To date, ResiLoop has diverted about 142 tonnes of material from landfill, however recognises it is just the start to establishing a circular future for floorcoverings in Australia.

Photography: Courtesy of Floor91