Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring industry, and the industry leader in recycled and renewable flooring. Every year, Mohawk diverts more than 3 billion pounds of material from landfills through its application of the “5 Rs” (recycle, reduce, reuse, recover and renew). More than 500 Mohawk products contain some type of recycled material.

Mohawk has scores of environmental and sustainable programs under way through its GreenWorks platform. These are detailed in a specialized Web site, www.mohawkgreenworks.com. Among the more notable are:

Mohawk EverStrand fiber. Mohawk recycles more than 3 billion plastic bottles each year, converting them into high quality EverStrand PET fiber. That’s one in every four bottles recycled in North America. Because the FDA demands high quality PET for food applications, the recycled PET is typically as good as or better than virgin resin.

Mohawk SmartStrand fiber made with DuPont Sorona renewably sourced polymer. Instead of petroleum, 37% of the polymer for this product is made from renewable sources such as corn sugar. When compared to the production of nylon 6, SmartStrand takes 30% less energy to produce and reduces greenhouse gas production by 60%. For every seven yards of Sorona carpet produced, the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline is saved.

Carpet tile with Mohawk Encycle backing. Mohawk’s new residential Home & Office tile line features Encycle backing. Encycle is unique—it’s a non-PVC carpet tile that can be completely recycled back into itself in a single process. Old Encycle carpet is melted down and made into new Encycle backing without separating the face fiber from the backing layers. This reduces energy use and saves resources.

Mohawk Hardwood. Many Mohawk hardwood products are certified sustainable, which helps ensure resources are not obtained illegally or from poor practices such as clear cutting. Certified products (verified by a third party) ensure that the purchase made is one that is environmentally and socially responsible. Mohawk is also reclaiming wood such as antique elm and heart pine flooring from structures in the United States and Asia, and using it for premium engineered flooring. This process maximizes the use of the reclaimed wood.

Mohawk Laminate. Mohawk diverts more than 680 million pounds of material from landfills each year through recycling into quality laminate flooring. Its domestically produced laminate has an average pre-consumer recycled content of 74%.

Mohawk Ceramic. Mohawk recycles waste fired tile, diverting 64 million pounds of material from landfills each year. Virtually all ceramic tile contains recycled material. Recycled content is 40% to 51% in floor tile, 32% to 46% in wall tile, 7% to 40% in mosaics, and up to 20% in quarry products. A number of Mohawk ceramic plants also recycle 100% of all wastewater from manufacturing.

Mohawk is also sponsoring the first annual GreenWorks Dealer of the Year Award for flooring retailers who practice sustainability and recycling. Nominations continue through Oct. 31. For details, visit www.mohawktoday.com.