The celebration of Earth Day by the local PBS station included showing a couple of unique recycling programs here in SoCal.
1) Latex Paint.
There is a latex only, paint recycling business in the neighborhood that produces a reconstituted paint product from old paint.
They produce a few different colors, but mostly "off white".
It is about 1/3-1/2 the cost of "new" paint and gets used on things like brick walls or other background surfaces.
The professional painter will notice a slight variation in characteristics from "new", but probably not the amateur.
The olds cans end up being recycled into rebar. (Same place confiscated firearms go)
2) Carpet
Today, almost all carpet is hydrocarbon based.
This is the only location in the world providing this service.
They recycle old carpet by stripping of the old backing, then reformulating what is left into carpet padding or other plastic padding applications including automotive.
They process over 4,000,000,000 lbs of carpet annually at this one location. (Yes, that's BILLION with a "B").
3) Dry Cleaning
The elimination of Tri-Clor used in dry cleaning has been a primary objective of the SCAQMD as well as the EPA for some time.
It is not only nasty but hazardous.
A solution is available.
Leave it to the Germans.
They have developed a water based cleaning process that not only does a better job cleaning the clothes, but also uses less energy, is less expensive to purchase, and produces no hazardous waste.
Ultimately, these are all profit driven businesses, but it clearly demonstrates there are alternates to our here to for wasteful life styles.
Lew