Roppe Corp. is partnering with Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership to implement Roppe’s IMPACT rubber products recycling program. Starnet Worldwide comprises more than 170 independently owned and operated flooring contractors in North America.

“The Starnet members have been very successful in recycling initiatives within the carpet industry. Our desire is that Roppe’s rubber recycling process will eventually become a standard practice among contractors, much like those practiced in the carpet industry,” said Jeremy Whipple, marketing manager for Roppe Holding Co. “Roppe is the first to implement a program of this sort for installed rubber products and samples in the field and we have been very pleased with how it has been received.”

“What makes this program unique is that we are offering a one cent per pound incentive for every pound recycled by the Starnet members to be accrued over a one year period,” Whipple added. “At the 2011 Starnet Annual Meeting, we will proudly announce the grand total of recycled products generated from our Starnet partners and present them with a contribution check payable to The Wounded Warrior Project as our appreciation of their commitment to our program.”

“Roppe’s IMPACT program is a great opportunity for all Starnet Members to help clients achieve their environmental goals,” noted Jeanne Matson, Starnet president and ceo.

The IMPACT program begins with products being gathered at the jobsite in recycled Gaylord containers for return to Roppe's recycling partner. The most popular byproducts from the recycling process are municipal landscaping mulches, playground surfacing and rubber crumb for athletic fields and other applications. Specialty products such as pavers and edgings can also be made as needed. The rubber is treated with an EPA-approved adherent paint that is available in eight colors.

“As a preferred vendor with Starnet for the past seven years, we have grown to rely on the members and their relationships with our distributor partners as a way to grow our business as well as theirs,” said Rick Rollins, Roppe's director specifications. “When we kicked off this recycling program it wasn’t a matter of who we would partner with, but more a matter of the timing and how it would best work with Starnet.”

“The result of the Roppe IMPACT program and Starnet partnership is that potentially thousands of pounds of jobsite waste can be diverted from our already gorged landfills and repurposed into cost-effective products that simultaneously promote the environment while providing beautiful, durable landscaping alternatives or eye-catching playground surfaces that are the cleanest and safest on the American market,” he added.

Products that can be recycled in the IMPACT program are: Pinnacle Rubber Base, AlphaBase, BaseMates, Pinnacle Plus Wall Base, Rubber Corner Blocks, Dimensions Rubber Tile, Smooth and Marbleized Rubber Tile, Raised Design Rubber Tile and Tread, SafeTcork Rubber Tile and Tread, Fiesta Rubber Tile and Tread, SafeTcork Fiesta Rubber Tile and Tread, Designer’s Choice Rubber Tile, Spike/Skate Resistant Tile, Recoil Fitness Flooring, Tuflex Recycled Rubber Tile and Rubber Accessories.