THREE SHAW FACILITIES ACHIEVE ZERO LANDFILL STATUS
01.21.2010
Dalton, Georgia – Three Shaw Industries facilities are now zero landfill, the company has announced. The facilities include two Tuftex carpet manufacturing plants in Santa Fe Springs, California, and a Shaw fiber extrusion facility in Clemson, South Carolina. Each facility achieved zero landfill status by redirecting waste otherwise intended for landfills through alternative channels of recycling and reuse.
According to Tuftex Risk/Environmental Manager Bill Woyshner, achieving zero landfill status for the California-based Shaw Tuftex plants was an initiative designed to support both a regional zero landfill initiative and Shaw’s own corporate waste reduction goals. With the largest local landfill in the Los Angeles, Puente Hills, California area slated for closure in 2013, Shaw is helping the City of Santa Fe Springs meet their waste diversion goals by implementing a zero waste to landfill initiative, Woyshner said. “As a result, we recognized a clear opportunity to demonstrate that zero landfill facilities are not only achievable – they can contribute to the sustainability of an entire community – in this case, our own.”
“Because the facilities were already operating at a very high level of efficiency, each plant was already sorting and recycling every possible type of waste on site and through local partners like New Green Day, RJM and Serv-Wel Disposal,” explained Tuftex Carpet Director Jim Cusick. “The final step was finding a method of recycling or reuse for the break-room waste generated each month.”
That break-room waste is now being sent as an alternative fuel source to produce electric power, Cusick stated. LEADER program companies must pledge to establish energy use and energy intensity baselines and to develop a strategic energy management plan. Shaw has completed these steps according to Shaw Vice President of Sustainability Rick Ramirez, who represented Shaw at the signing ceremony.
According to Anita Jimenez, recycling coordinator for the city of Santa Fe Springs, Shaw’s leadership in this area also demonstrates the kind of community impact sustainability initiatives like zero landfill can have. “Shaw's leadership in the diversion and reutilization of remaining waste streams goes a long way towards supporting the City of Santa Fe Springs’ own landfill diversion goals. Shaw’s partnership with Serv-Wel Disposal to divert all of their waste, including breakroom trash, from the landfill serves as a model of environmental stewardship for other companies and industries working towards Zero Landfill,” Jimenez said.
“Shaw is a great example of the benefits generated when organizations working together to set new standards for environmental responsibility also have a real community impact,” she added.
Shaw’s Clemson, South Carolina extrusion plant has partnered with Phillips Recoveries to achieve zero landfill status. “Phillips changes the solid state of our industrial compacted trash to the consistency of garden mulch by shredding and then grinding it,” said Gene Rowell, Plant 8T environmental health and safety manager. “Phillips Recoveries customers then use this material as a means of liquid absorption for the treatment of non-hazardous waste.”
Like its counterparts on the West Coast, the Clemson plant also recycles waste paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal, with local firms. The material we recycle through Phillips Recoveries is less than one-fifth of what the plant recycles locally and on-site, according to Rowell. “We are very proud to be one of the first three Shaw facilities to reach the zero landfill goal,” he added.
Achieving “zero waste to landfill” at three Shaw facilities is a significant step towards Shaw’s long-term waste reduction goals, according to the company’s Vice President of Sustainability Rick Ramirez. “Our corporate goal is to reduce our organization’s overall waste to landfill by 90 percent by year-end 2011, with the ultimate goal of achieving zero waste to landfill for our entire organization,” Ramirez said. “These three facilities are setting a standard for all other parts of our own organization as well as for other manufacturers looking for models of successful and aggressive waste reduction.”
“The initiative taken by all the Shaw associates at each of these facilities also demonstrates the personal dedication to sustainability shared throughout the organization,” Ramirez added. “Their clear commitment to finding smart, progressive ways of eliminating the concept of waste from their manufacturing processes is exactly what Shaw’s commitment to sustainability through innovation – the Shaw Green Edge – is about.”
About the Shaw Green Edge
Sustainability through InnovationTM That’s the Shaw Green Edge®. It’s our commitment to
create the most beautiful – and sustainable – flooring in the world. And to help create a better
planet for our customers, our people and our communities in the process.
Rooted in our drive to continuously improve every aspect of our business, the Shaw Green
Edge guides everything we do, every day – from maintaining the highest ethical standards to
safeguarding the health and well‐being of our people and our communities, to conserving
energy and water and recycling raw materials, to designing cradle to cradle products that can be
remanufactured over and over again.
Because setting the standard for environmental excellence, social responsibility and product
design is more than our responsibility. It’s also good business. And it’s our legacy.
About Shaw Industries
Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., is the world’s largest
carpet manufacturer and a leading floor covering provider with more than $5 billion in annual
sales and approximately 26,000 associates at the end of 2008. Headquartered in Dalton, Ga.,
the company manufactures and distributes carpeting, rugs, hardwood, laminate and ceramic tile
for residential and commercial product applications worldwide. A recognized leader in
environmental stewardship, Shaw has implemented hundreds of sustainability initiatives and
cradle to cradle design solutions collectively termed the Shaw Green Edge. For more
information, visit www.shawgreenedge.com.
