Disclosed are methods for utilizing reclaimed synthetic turf materials in the manufacture of various second generation floor coverings and floor covering components. Also disclosed are products manufactured by the methods.

A process for the recycling of wastes from webs or strands made of prepreg wastes comprising a first reactive resin, having the following steps: homogenization of prepreg wastes, dispersion of fillers and/or additives in a second reactive resin, mixing of the second resin, homogenized prepreg wastes and further processing of the mixture of resin, fillers and/or additives and prepreg wastes to produce molded workpieces.

A composite material is produced from carpet waste and a binding agent, in intimate association, and may also include wood fiber or chips and/or other additives. A method of manufacturing a composite material includes shredding carpet waste, coating the carpet waste with a binding agent, and subjecting the shredded, coated carpet waste to elevated heat and pressure. As an additional step, the composite material may be actively cooled to prevent deformation of the material.

Blends of recycled plastic materials and plastic products made therefrom are provided. The blends combine a high fraction of recycled medical waste with mixed recycled plastics, such as polyolefins or carpet waste. Also provided are methods for processing a heterogeneous waste stream such as medical waste to yield a homogenous material capable of blending with other materials and extrusion to form useful plastic products such as structural materials and consumer articles.

A process for the recycling of wastes from webs or strands made of prepreg wastes comprising a first reactive resin, having the following steps: homogenization of prepreg wastes, dispersion of fillers and/or additives in a second reactive resin, mixing of the second resin, homogenized prepreg wastes and further processing of the mixture of resin, fillers and/or additives and prepreg wastes to produce molded workpieces.

A barrier includes recycled rubber portions molded around a core infrastructure. The core infrastructure may itself include recycled rubber in a containment body. The containment body may include baled recycled or other waste material. The barriers may be stacked or connected to form a barrier structure useful in environmental control and other applications. The method for making the barriers includes molding rubber portions and a binder around a core infrastructure.

Compression molded composites comprising at least two compressed layers of unshredded carpet and method of making compression molded composites from unshredded carpets.

A method reclaims metalized polymer film or mixtures containing metal and/or metal alloys into a metal-containing, polymeric film. The resulting film structure has better oxygen and moisture barrier properties when metalized than plain metalized polymer films. The polymer to be reclaimed, originates in sheet form, and is densified, as by shredding, pelletizing and/or re-extruding into fine particulate form such as chips or pellets. The reclaimed polymeric film can be used, in a range of concentrations, to produce biaxially oriented polyester film for metalizing.

A method of manufacturing bulked continuous carpet filament which, in various embodiments, comprises: (A) grinding recycled PET bottles into a group of flakes; (B) washing the flakes; (C) identifying and removing impurities, including impure flakes, from the group of flakes; (D) adding one or more color concentrates to the flakes; (E) passing the group of flakes through an MRS extruder while maintaining the pressure within the MRS portion of the MRS extruder below about 25 millibars; (F) passing the resulting polymer melt through at least one filter having a micron rating of less than about 50 microns; and (G) forming the recycled polymer into bulked continuous carpet filament that consists essentially of recycled PET.

A barrier includes recycled rubber portions molded around a core infrastructure. The core infrastructure may itself include recycled rubber in a containment body. The containment body may include baled recycled or other waste material. The barriers may be stacked or connected to form a barrier structure useful in environmental control and other applications. The method for making the barriers includes molding rubber portions and a binder around a core infrastructure.