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Recycling and Reclamation
EVERGREEN NYLON RECYCLING
The term "cradle to grave" describes the process by which consumer
products are conventionally manufactured: we take raw materials from the
earth, make products, and eventually send those products to overflowing
landfills.
Cradle-to-cradle production means that products can be collected and
returned to manufacturing of the original product again and again. This is
the company is well on the path toward achieving it.
Shaw is committed to investing in technologies that move us to a cradle-to-
cradle future, such as our Evergreen nylon recycling facility that recycles
post-consume Nylon 6* carpets back into the raw material to make new
carpet. Just as natural products can be returned to the earth for
decomposition to make fertilizers in a cycle of renewal, cradle-to-cradle
manufacturing mimics this process. The company believes that
cradle-to-cradle is the path to true sustainability.
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*THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF NYLON FIBER, NYLON 6 AND NYLON 6,6. CURRENTLY, POST-
CONSUMER NYLON 6,6 CANNOT BE RECYCLED INTO DYEABLE CARPET FIBER
REPEATEDLY; EARTH, MAKE PRODUCTS, AND EVENTUALLY SEND THOSE PRODUCTS TO
OVERFLOWING IT IS GENERALLY "DOWN-CYCLED" INTO OTHER PRODUCTS, SUCH AS
AUTOMOBILE PARTS
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GREEN SOLUTIONS IN HARD SURFACES
EnviroCore™, the high-density-fiber (HDF) core featured in Shaw's Epic
hardwood and laminate products, is made from post-industrial recycled wood
fiber. Use of this innovative core means consumption of fewer trees and less
waste. In addition, 100% of the post-industrial laminate manufacturing waste
from our Ringgold, Georgia facility is diverted from the landfill and used
as fuel, mainly for Shaw's waste-to-energy process, the innovative
technology that converts carpet and wood waste to steam energy through
a process called gasification. Manufacturing waste from our West Coast
operations is also sold for fuel.
Epic Hardwood flooring features EnviroCore™, a high density fiber core
derived from recycled wood fiber which means fewer trees are used with less
waste. Epic 3/8" hardwood uses 50% less harvested wood than comparable
engineered wood flooring and it comes from managed forests.
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