INITIATIVE | 043 Shaw continues to innovate with products and processes that are changing the face of manufacturing as we know it. Shaw is not just leading the carpet industry were forging a path for all industries. A path that has no firm destination, but is all about evolving along the way. In nature, there is no waste only nutrients. Everything gets fed back into an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. In manufacturing, Shaw is approximating this process by implementing a Cradle to Cradle strategy. Nothing is lost, and so much is gained if you keep going round and round!
The EcoWorx® Recovery Technology facility is located at Plant X in Cartersville, Georgia. This facility is specially designed to deconstruct carpet tile made with EcoWorx® backing into two separate recycling streams. One stream contains EcoWorx® backing and the other contains primarily nylon face fiber. The process utilizes elutriation technology which consists of shredding and grinding the carpet into a course mixture. This mixture is then separated using air flow and gravity, based on the weight of each component in the mixture. It sounds pretty complex, but the results are amazingly simple!
All post-industrial (pre-consumer) waste generated at Plant X is recycled using EcoWorx® Recovery Technology with no components going to a landfill. EcoWorx® Recovery Technology is 100% effective and generates no waste. Every pound of waste carpet that goes in comes right back out in the form of new backing or fiber composites. The facility, in its current capacity, allows Shaw to recycle 1.8 million square yards of carpet per year. And thats a Green Edge that will just keep going round.
