Dumping that old carpet into the trash can be a tempting end to your carpet removal situation.  But consider that as Americans we toss more than 2.5 million tons of carpet into landfills each year.  That's enough to fill a space as big as Manhattan annually.  In 2002 the Carpet America Recovery Effort (C.A.R.E.)  was created on behalf of the carpet industry and key government agencies to divert this carpet waste into new carpet.  In North Florida we have two locations in Orlando and Jacksonville to help us with turning that old shag into new rag. 

With Carpet there are usually three primary components the soft face, the middle primary backing and the final tertiary backing plus a carpet cushion.  The first layer and the middle backing can be recycled while the tertiary layer is most commonly made of latex or PVC.  Carpet cushion pad is easily recyclable and is often made of recycled material.
When replacing carpet, consider having it left at the curbside if you are in the Gainesville municipality.  The city will pick up your `carpet if it is cut into 3' sections and rolled and left at curbside.  Also consider other resilient material from INDIGOGreen like Marmoleum or Cork or even recycled carpet options that we have in many different styles. 

For more information check out this blog entry from green building advisor or if you are in Alachua county click here for their recycling program.