Carpet Recovery Achievements Announced By CARE

The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) recently released the figures on its diversion and recycling efforts for 2007. The group announced that the efforts achieved a double digit growth in recycling and diversion for the sixth year in a row. The CARE 2007 Annual Report included the following statistics:

* 296 million pounds of post-consumer carpet diverted, a 17% increase
* 275.1 million pounds recycled, a 19% increase
* CARE reached a milestone of a cumulative diversion of one billion pounds since its inception in 2002
* 149 million pounds of carpet diverted, on average, per year since 2002
* Carpet Recycling results in a net GHG emission of 1.96 metric tons of Carbon Equivalent per Ton of carpet (MTCE/ton)--far better than most other common materials that are recycled, according to CARE
* CARE's Reclamation Network grew to 56 members in 2007

2007 Awards
In other CARE news, the group presented its EPA/CARE Innovation Awards at its recent annual conference, held in Clearwater, FL.

The EPA/CARE Award, established and awarded for the first time at this year's conference, recognizes innovation as it relates to any aspect of carpet recycling. Interface was presented the award for its ReEntry 2.0® carpet recycling program. ReEntry 2.0 reclaims all types of carpet (commercial and residential) regardless of face fiber type or backing used. Through a new patent pending technology, Interface can cleanly separate the face fiber and backing of nearly any carpet type.

The CARE Recycler of the Year - Large Entity Award was presented to Shaw Industries, for its Shaw Green Edge initiative. The cornerstone of Shaw's environmental vision is cradle-to-cradle production, which will allow synthetic products, such as carpet, to be collected and then manufactured into new product repeatedly. The Shaw Green Edge Program encompasses over 100 environmental initiatives and was introduced following Shaw's purchase of the Evergreen Recycling facility in Augusta, GA.

Honored by CARE as the Carpet Recycler of the Year - Small Entity was Kruse Carpet Recycling of Indianapolis, IN. As a collection and sorting center opened in 1997, Kruse Carpet recycling guarantees customers that none of their carpet will go to landfills.

CARE Person of the Year was Russ DeLozier, who sits on the CARE Board of Directors and has been active in the industry since taking over the Evergreen facility that Shaw Industries now owns in 2006. The majority of Russ' experience has been in startup or operation of various types of plastic plants, including those manufacturing nylons, styrene block copolymers, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.

Shaw Industries Named as CARE’s Large Recycler of the Year

Shaw Industries was named Large Recycler of the Year by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), a joint industry-government initiative to promote carpet recycling, reuse, and waste reduction of post consumer carpet. Shaw leads the carpet industry with its cradle-to-cradle recycling program that has recycled 100 million pounds of post consumer carpet to date through its Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility.

Shaw president Randy Merritt believes that the company’s commercial and residential carpet products embody the carpet-to-carpet design as a means to reduce landfill waste and virgin raw material usage. The company’s efforts have lead to increased amounts of recycled content available for the production of new Shaw products in the future. “Shaw has come a long way in implementing its cradle-to-cradle products,” says Merritt. “Beyond the ability to design a product for reclamation and recycling through Evergreen, we had to organize and facilitate a nationwide collections network to service our customer’s recycling needs. It is a great honor for Shaw to be recognized by CARE for its recycling successes.”

Shaw’s nationwide collection network collaborates with entrepreneurs and businesses across the U.S. in establishing recycling centers for post consumer carpet. In conjunction with these businesses, Shaw has collected 165 million pounds of carpet, keeping it from landfill.

Shaw’s nylon brands, Eco Solution Q® and Anso® nylon, service the commercial and residential markets, respectively, and are nylon 6 fibers. Any carpet made with nylon 6 fiber can be processed at the Evergreen facility, the only operating facility of its kind in the world. The Evergreen process yields caprolactam monomer, the building block for new nylon, which gives Shaw the ability to increase the amount of recycled content in its products with the addition of post consumer recycled content.

The Shaw carpet recycling network operates collection points across the United States and in most major markets. Russ Delozier, the post consumer carpet collection manager, was named the CARE Person of the Year for 2007. “Russ and his committed team have played a major role in the implementation of our collection network,” says Rick Ramirez, vice president of sustainability and environmental affairs. “I am pleased that CARE recognized him for the leadership role that he is playing in bringing carpet recycling options to our customers and communities at large.”

Shaw commercial brands The New Patcraft & Designweave, Shaw Contract Group, and Shaw Hospitality Group manufacture carpet products with Eco Solution Q nylon, a Cradle to Cradle Certified product by MBDC. This certification contributes to Innovation in Design points through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Additionally, Shaw commercial brands feature EcoWorx backing technology for tile and broadloom carpet. Shaw guarantees that it will collect and recycle all EcoWorx carpet products into more EcoWorx at no charge to the customer.

Milliken Donates Carbon Dioxide Credits For CARE Event

Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), an initiative to reduce carpet waste to landfills, announces that Milliken & Company, an international textile and chemical manufacturer headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, will donate carbon dioxide credits to neutralize the carbon impacts of the sixth annual CARE conference that occurred last week. This is the third consecutive year Milliken has made such a donation. The donation is administered by the Leonardo Academy, respected for its work on sustainable buildings and climate change.

"Beyond reducing waste to landfill, CARE and the carpet industry take our environmental impacts seriously," said Frank Hurd, vice president of the Carpet and Rug Institute. "Milliken's third donation of carbon credits to green our conference provides a good example and supports our broader goals."

Companies that take action to reduce pollutant emission earn global warming credits that represent the amount of greenhouse gasses prevented from entering the atmosphere. These credits offset the environmental impact of events or other activities.

"Milliken recently announced our second methane harvesting project to expand our renewable energy sources. We sequester more carbon dioxide in our forests than our factories produce, while we continue to innovate and measure to reduce our energy consumption," said Russell Grizzle, global president of Milliken Floor Covering.

CARE, a voluntary initiative of the carpet industry and government, focuses on developing carpet reclamation and recycling methods to prevent carpet from burdening landfills.

Milliken & Company is certified carbon negative without purchasing credits. LaGrange, GA-based Milliken Floor Covering, a division of Milliken & Company, sends zero waste to landfill from carpet manufacturing, uses alternative energy and offers its customers a No Carpet to Landfill Pledge. All Milliken carpet products are free of PVC and may be reused or recycled.

Leonardo Academy is a charitable nonprofit dedicated to advancing sustainability and putting the competitive market to work on improving the environment.