The First Facility Management Blog

McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), a third party consultancy founded by architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart, is the entity that certifies products Cradle to Cradle™. The Zeftron nylon product has received Silver certification from MBDC.
 
Zeftron nylon, a premium branded nylon 6 yarn system manufactured by Shaw Industries for external commercial carpet manufacturing customers, is a yarn system that is 100% closed-loop recyclable at the end of its useful life. All Zeftron nylon yarns come standard with a minimum 25% recycled content in every color.
 
“We are proud to announce that Zeftron nylon has achieved MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle™ Silver Certification, making it a commercial interiors product that demonstrates sustainability and continuous improvement,” said Jay Bolus, vice president of technical operations for MBDC. “This certification lends further credibility to Zeftron nylon’s environmentally intelligent design.”
 
MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle™ certification process closely examines the use of environmentally safe and healthy materials, design for recycling, water and energy efficiency, and social responsibility strategies.
 
“We have always worked to make a product that leaves little or no environmental footprint,” said Tim Blount, business leader for Zeftron nylon. “Every decision regarding manufacturing, product attributes and complete life cycle responsibility work towards this goal, from manufacturing only nylon 6 products to our simple to use commercial carpet recycling program, 6ix Again. We will continue to bring innovation to the marketplace as an industry leader in closed-loop manufacturing and recycling.”
 
Products carrying the Cradle to Cradle™ certification are included within U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Building Rating System and can contribute to earning points for Innovation in Design.

The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) recently released the figures on its diversion and recycling efforts for 2007. The group announced that the efforts achieved a double digit growth in recycling and diversion for the sixth year in a row. The CARE 2007 Annual Report included the following statistics:

* 296 million pounds of post-consumer carpet diverted, a 17% increase
* 275.1 million pounds recycled, a 19% increase
* CARE reached a milestone of a cumulative diversion of one billion pounds since its inception in 2002
* 149 million pounds of carpet diverted, on average, per year since 2002
* Carpet Recycling results in a net GHG emission of 1.96 metric tons of Carbon Equivalent per Ton of carpet (MTCE/ton)–far better than most other common materials that are recycled, according to CARE
* CARE’s Reclamation Network grew to 56 members in 2007

2007 Awards
In other CARE news, the group presented its EPA/CARE Innovation Awards at its recent annual conference, held in Clearwater, FL.

The EPA/CARE Award, established and awarded for the first time at this year’s conference, recognizes innovation as it relates to any aspect of carpet recycling. Interface was presented the award for its ReEntry 2.0® carpet recycling program. ReEntry 2.0 reclaims all types of carpet (commercial and residential) regardless of face fiber type or backing used. Through a new patent pending technology, Interface can cleanly separate the face fiber and backing of nearly any carpet type.

The CARE Recycler of the Year - Large Entity Award was presented to Shaw Industries, for its Shaw Green Edge initiative. The cornerstone of Shaw’s environmental vision is cradle-to-cradle production, which will allow synthetic products, such as carpet, to be collected and then manufactured into new product repeatedly. The Shaw Green Edge Program encompasses over 100 environmental initiatives and was introduced following Shaw’s purchase of the Evergreen Recycling facility in Augusta, GA.

Honored by CARE as the Carpet Recycler of the Year - Small Entity was Kruse Carpet Recycling of Indianapolis, IN. As a collection and sorting center opened in 1997, Kruse Carpet recycling guarantees customers that none of their carpet will go to landfills.

CARE Person of the Year was Russ DeLozier, who sits on the CARE Board of Directors and has been active in the industry since taking over the Evergreen facility that Shaw Industries now owns in 2006. The majority of Russ’ experience has been in startup or operation of various types of plastic plants, including those manufacturing nylons, styrene block copolymers, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.