Everyone thinks of recycling plastic bottles and cans, but Dreamhouse Interiors takes care of the harder stuff, like carpeting and padding, when you’re doing some renovations.

The aesthetic benefits of installing new carpet in your home come with a big downside: waste. Worn-out carpet and padding are cumbersome and costly to dispose of (dumpsters don’t come cheap) and clog limited landfill space. By one estimate, more than 5 billion pounds of carpet are discarded in the U.S. annually. That’s a shame, considering carpet and pad are made out of another finite resource, petroleum.

Fortunately, in many cases carpet and pad ­– such as those made from nylon and polypropylene – are recyclable, and businesses that will recycle them are popping up. In the Chippewa Valley, Altoona-based Dreamhouse Interiors began offering carpet recycling in January 2012. In its first year alone, Dreamhouse recycled more than 70 tons of carpet with the help of Milwaukee-based CLEAR Carpet Recycling.

Dreamhouse Interiors owner Gordy Pillar’s primary business is installing and refinishing hardwood floors as well as selling and installing carpet, ceramic tile, vinyl, cork, and bamboo flooring, all out of a mobile flooring showroom. But he’s enthusiastic about helping Mother Earth by providing the new service. “Our situation is not unique. Every flooring store deals with the expense of throwing away renewable resources like carpet and pad,” he said. “Hopefully more will join us in recycling theirs.”

Discarded carpet can be recycled into (surprise) more carpet and carpet cushions, as well as picnic tables, park benches, erosion-control products, auto parts, and plenty of other things – a process that keeps waste out of landfills and reduces the need to drill for more crude oil. As the sign on the side of Gordy’s pick-up truck puts it, “Because Our Children’s, Children’s, Children Deserve It.”

Dreamhouse Interiors • residential, commercial, and contract floor coverings; wood floors installed and refinished; carpet and pad recycled • 715-830-0759 • facebook.com/dreamhouseinteriors or dreamhouse-interiors.com.