We got around removing all the old carpet from the building (see also 08/11/2009 post). Some of it was pretty icky – and I am diplomatic here. Take the second floor for instance. Some kind of pet must have lived there. Whenever we walked upstairs, even on moderate warm days, we were greeted by a stinging and unpleasant smell. The carpet had to go!

But what are we going to do with it? Just throwing it into the Dumpster did not seem right. Reusing it was out of the question – or was it?

I recalled a discussion with my friend Bill Wilson from Midwest Permaculture. It was about alternative methods of weed treatment, and how you can use old cardboard to smoother and suffocate weeds. We have a lot of weeds in the yard. I don’t have cardboard, but I have the old carpet!

The rest is history. I cut the carpet into fitting pieces and rolled it out in the yard, covering the weeds up.

Now remember, I am a landscape architect, and this is what my front yard currently looks like. I see a lot of raised eyebrows, head scratching and the expression “what on earth…” amongst my friends. Our neighbors are more relaxed and eager to ask what the carpet is all about.

It doesn’t take many words. I just need to roll back a corner and they immediately understand what I am up to. Resource efficiency is part of their daily lives. I am just happy that I got one more use out of the old carpet, before it goes to waste at the end of this season.