Sooner or later - usually after around 25 to 40 years - linoleum needs to be replaced. Various options present themselves in terms of waste disposal.
Incineration
Burnt in an energy-recycling incineration plant, linoleum products produce a residual calorific value that is comparable to that of coal (18.6 Mj/kg). The amount of C0² released during incineration is roughly equivalent to that taken up by the natural raw materials used (flax plants, trees and jute plants). Therefore, linoleum is a closed-loop system: the energy obtained from incinerating linoleum is roughly equivalent to or even more than that which is used in production.
Landfill
As a common alternative to incineration, linoleum can be safely added to landfill refuse sites, where natural decomposition takes place. Linoleum is fully biodegradable and does not release harmful substances or gases such as chlorine and dioxins. As linoleum's raw materials are provided by nature, and decomposition returns linoleum to nature, this is essentially the ultimate form of recycling.