The industry’s recycling and diversion effort has been comprised of a slew of individual company and association advancements working toward a common goal—getting carpet out of landfills. The following is a brief run down of some of the major initiatives that have taken place:

Mohawk’s Re-Cover—a national carpet reclamation system—has already reclaimed over two million pounds of post-consumer carpet since May 2006, and its Encycle and U2 Unibond backing systems transform post-industrial waste into new product.

Shaw began a national collection program in conjunction with the reopening of its Evergreen Nylon Recycling facility, which will be used to process over 100 million pounds of post-consumer nylon 6 carpet in 2007. It also opened the industry’s first waste-to-energy plant.

CRI’s Seal of Approval program tests and certifies chemicals and equipment that meet demanding performance standards, keeping carpet out of landfills longer.

Milliken conducts Life Cycle Analysis on all carpet, ensuring sustainability and high-performance; achieved zero waste-to-landfill from carpet since 1999; uses TractionBack installation, eliminating adhesives and related waste; extends carpet life up to 50% with Comfort Plus cushion backing, and pledges environmentally responsible alternatives.

C&A/ Tandus has an active buy-back program, FLOORE, offering customers financial incentive to return old vinyl-backed carpets—it has recycled more than 115 million pounds to date. All C&A products are 100% recyclable, and all carpet returned to the company will be recycled.

Interface’s ReEntry carpet reclamation program diverted 16.4 million pounds of material from the landfill in 2006. The amount recycled increased from 71% to 84% last year. It also reclaims vinyl-backed tile for its GlasBac RE.

Invista began offering carpet-recycling services in 1991. It opened the first national carpet reclamation program to recycle all types of carpet and was the first fiber manufacturer to achieve Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification for its Antron carpet fiber.

J&J/Invision provides paper sampling—an efficient way to narrow samples—and offers postage-paid sample returns through EnAct, guaranteeing all returns are recycled. The company’s ColorLoc Plus is CRI Green Label Plus certified and allows most stains to be removed simply with cold water.

Mannington has long invested and researched reducing manufacturing waste and increasing efficiency. It has a nation-wide carpet reclamation program—LOOP, ArtCraft carpet tile—made from 100% post-production yarn, and continues to back advancements to increase recycled conent and reduce waste.