Carpet Industry's Largest Recycler Selected as Recipient of Green Dot Award
KENNESAW, Ga., Feb. 10, 2009 - Mohawk Industries' (Mohawk) award roster is getting longer - and greener. The global flooring manufacturer and industry's largest recycler announces that it is the recipient of two 2008 Green Dot Awards (third place and honorable mention in the "services" category), recognizing the company's pioneering recycling facility, the Greenworks Center. A testament to the company's continued commitment to sustainable innovation, the Greenworks Center is a first-of-its-kind recycling facility to process all major types of synthetic carpet fiber.
"This award is a mark of distinction for Mohawk. This facility was not developed by a blueprint, but by a visionary organization that upholds sustainability as the bedrock of its organization," said Lewis Perkins, director of sustainable strategies for The Mohawk Group, the commercial carpeting division of Mohawk Industries. "The Green Dot Award affirms our role as a leading environmental steward and innovator not only within the carpet industry, but also among our customers' communities."
The Green Dot Awards program seeks to recognize forward-thinking businesses that practice excellence in environmental responsibility and create environmentally friendly products or services. Mohawk and its Greenworks Center will be recognized at The Green Dot Awards gala on Earth Day, April 22, 2009, at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
SAVING CARPET, PRESERVING THE PLANET
Mohawk's Greenworks Center reclaims all major types of synthetic fiber - Nylon 6, Nylon 6,6, Polypropylene and other fibers - that make up more than 75 percent of the carpet industry's waste stream, helping to reduce the industry's environmental footprint while increasing carpeting's recovery rate. In fact, the Greenworks Center processes 90 percent of its input stream into useful products and boasts the highest recovery rate in the industry, nearly three times that of its closest competitor. Regardless of manufacturer, yardage or yarn system, the Center works with the C.A.R.E. (Carpet America Recovery Effort) initiative and Mohawk's own ReCover reclamation program to reclaim carpet.
Leveraging advanced recycling technology, Greenworks Center will process 100 percent of the carpet it receives, including fiber, backing and latex. It will also manage a variety of thermoplastic non-carpet recyclables, helping to further minimize the amount of carpet that finds its way to the landfills. Recycled material processed at the Center will go "carpet to carpet" - face fiber to backing, backing to backing and in the near future face fiber to face fiber. Providing a broad array of solutions, Mohawk currently produces more than 500 products composed of recycled content.
A complete eco-friendly process that ensures minimal materials go to waste, Greenworks is the only center to reclaim all major types of synthetic fiber in one facility. Along with the reclaimed materials that will go carpet-to-carpet, Greenworks Center will process a percentage of the materials to be used in Engineered Resins that are shipped to Mohawk's Engineered Resin partners. This material can then be used to produce chair components, consumer accessory products for lawn equipment, storage containers and hundreds of other valuable plastic components containing post consumer content (electrical outlets, hub caps, gears, engine components, etc.).
The first Greenworks Center is open and operational in Chatsworth, Ga.; however, it can be built in other locations due to the Center's flexible and scalable design. Furthering the environmental efficiency of the entire process, recyclers can keep fuel and transportation costs down by strategically locating their operations close to any GreenWorks processing center.
To learn more about Greenworks and the company's other sustainability efforts, visit www.mohawkgreenworks.com.
About Mohawk
With its history spanning more than 130 years, Mohawk Industries is your complete commercial and residential flooring solution, offering carpet, tile, hardwood, laminate and vinyl designs. Driven by a strong focus on environmentally sound practices inside and out of its facilities, Mohawk is the industry's largest recycler, diverting more than three billion pounds of waste from landfills each year. And through advanced technologies, such as its award-winning Greenworks Center, it produces more than 500 products composed of recycled content and continues to create a new sustainability story for its company, its customer, its industry and the environment. For more information, visit www.mohawkgreenworks.com.
About Green Dot Awards Program
The Green Dot Awards strive to reward and promote forward-thinking businesses that create environmentally friendly products or services, and to reward revolutionary green proposals. The purpose of Green Dot is to reward those who practice excellence in environmental responsibility and to serve as a consumer guide to excellence in environmentally sustainable practices. A business with a Green Dot Award is a business that can be trusted by consumers with a stewardship of the environment.
