/ Newsletters / CARE Newsletter – July 2009
7th Annual CARE Conference
Starnet / CARE Carpet Reclamation Awards
New Board Members
Carpet and Rug Institute – Blog
Reliance Eco-Carpet Cushion – A Fresh New Look
Monthly Carpet Collector's Call
First Annual Conference of Carpet Recycle UK A Great Success
CARE at NPE 2009
CARE Membership Program
Welcome to this latest volume of the CARE newsletter. Your fellow CARE members have been very busy since we last met at the 7th Annual Conference. And speaking of the Conference, we had over 100 attendees, who told us on our follow up survey that the Conference was very valuable to them. If you have not attended in the past, please plan to join us next year.
In the last couple months, CARE members have been working very hard on one of our key goals- developing new outlets for post-consumer carpet. Many of us attended the NPE, the largest plastics industry event in the US, and we had a chance to meet with potential customers, compounders, and others. The exhibits and the meeting itself were outstanding, and I believe we raised the awareness of CARE among the attendees we touched.
Our Entrepreneurs continue to meet on a regular basis- read more about what they discuss and how to get involved in the newsletter.
And be sure to check out the web site- Jeremy and Jason have done an excellent job of updating the entire site since the Conference- get the latest information on membership, meetings, products and connections.
We are always looking for news to share with our membership, so if you have a new PCC product that you launched, or you have seen some interesting technology that you want to share, or you just want to let people know about your new business, send a note to Jeremy so that we can include it in our next newsletter.
Thank you for your continuing support of CARE. We could not do this without your dedication and hard work.
Georgina Sikorski
CARE Executive Director
Landsdowne, Virginia – April 29, 2009 – Figures for 2008 released this week by the by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) show a reduction in the recycling and diversion of post-consumer carpet, compared to 2007 levels. CARE's 2008 Annual Report, presented at the organization's seventh Annual Conference held April 28 through May 1 at the National Conference Center in Landsdowne, Virginia, showed that 243.4 million pounds of post-consumer carpet were recycled and 292.4 million pounds were diverted from landfills in 2008. These figures represent an 11.4 percent decrease in recycling and a .8 percent decrease in diversion compared to 2007.
You can now sign up to be a member of CARE on line. Using drop down menus, you can find which CARE member category fits you or your organization.
CARE membership categories include: member, affiliated association, international organization, individual supporter or student.
However, according to CARE Board Chairman Frank Hurd, the amount of decrease was less than expected by the group, especially in light of profoundly negative business results reported by other industries in 2008, and given the tough economic environment currently faced by U.S. businesses. "To put this in perspective," Hurd said, "businesses suffered unprecedented downturns in 2008. While we would all have preferred an increase in diversion and recycling, CARE members should be proud of all that they have accomplished this year."
In a clearly positive development, new data collected for the first time in CARE's 2008 Member Survey shows carpet collectors report 1,100 employees involved directly in carpet recycling, which translates into an additional 2,200 indirect jobs created in local communities. "This level of employment contributes significant dollars for local and state economies where these jobs are located," said CARE executive director Georgina Sikorski.
View the 2008 Annual Report
Here is what some of the attendees had to say about the conference:
This was my first care conference. I returned to my workplace with a wealth of knowledge.
100% of attendees surveyed were satisfied with the conference content.
92% of attendees were satisfied with the provided networking time.
The economic forecast was great!
A good mix and flow between formal presentations and round table discussions
I thought the entire program was on target in demonstrating CARE's leadership in this area by helping participants better understand the issues, successes and possibilities within the carpet recycling industry. In some ways it was almost an overload of information
I thought the agenda and sessions were all very interesting this year.
7th Annual Conference Webpage
2008 Award Winners/h3>
The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) honored four innovators from the growing world of post- consumer carpet recycling at the organization's Seventh Annual Conference held at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, Virginia, April 28 through May 1. The recycling group announced winners of the EPA/CARE Innovations in Recycling award and the CARE Recycler of the Year and Person of the Year awards.
Established just two years ago, the EPA/CARE award recognizes innovation in a product containing post- consumer carpet content, or a process that diverts substantial amounts of post-consumer carpet from landfills. This year the award is shared by Shaw Industries' Evergreen Nylon Recycling facility and Los Angeles Fiber Company and its president Ronald Greitzer.
From the time Shaw began operating the Evergreen plant in 2007, the company has recycled more than 220 million pounds of post-consumer Nylon 6 carpet and more than 36 million pounds of post-consumer carpet filler. In addition, significant fossil fuel usage was avoided through the plant's waste-to-energy processing.
A visionary and unselfish leader, Ron Greitzer has over a decade of involvement in carpet recycling. Since 2000, his Los Angeles Fiber Company has recycled more than 464 million pounds of post-consumer carpet, amounting to more than 40% of the accumulated poundage of recycled carpet reported by CARE since it began collecting data in 2002. Clearly, without Mr. Greitzer's efforts, CARE would not have reached their 2007 milestone of one billion pounds of post-consumer carpet recovered. Greitzer's Reliance Carpet Cushion products are made entirely of post-consumer carpet fiber, and represent a major potential market for post-consumer fiber.
As the organization's Recycler of the Year, CARE recognized Mohawk Industries for its GreenWorks Post- Consumer Recycling Center, which converts post- consumer carpet into engineered resins that can be used in a broad range of valuable post-consumer products. Mohawk describes its GreenWorks system as a "total recycling solution in which NO carpet component is either discarded to landfills or is sent to waste incineration." In 2008, the GreenWorks Center, located in Chatsworth, Georgia, collected 15 million pounds of post- consumer carpet for processing into thermoplastic nylons and other materials. Most engineered resin sales were with Nylon 6,6, but Mohawk also developed automotive, furniture, and housewares applications, among others.
For his exemplary leadership on the CARE Board, serving as chairman of various CARE committees, Brendan McSheehy, Jr., was named CARE Person of the Year. As director of research and development for Universal Fiber Systems, Mr. McSheehy has been actively involved in carpet fiber research and recycling since 1993. A patent-holder for a method of cleaning and separating post-consumer carpet face yarn, Mr. McSheehy was instrumental in the development of his company's ReFresh Fiber, which contains post- consumer content from recycled nylon Type 6,6 carpet.
"These awards recognize the exceptional innovation, perseverance, and investment made by our winners," said CARE executive director Georgina Sikorski. "CARE's goals of finding market-based solutions for post-consumer carpet and diverting carpet from landfills cannot be achieved without the kind of vision and commitment exemplified by the individuals and companies we honor this year."
Starnet / CARE Carpet Reclamation Awards/h3>
Darien, CT – June 12, 2009 – Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Partnership is pleased to announce recipients of the 2008 Starnet/CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort) Carpet Reclamation Awards. Sergenian's Floor Coverings, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Legacy Commercial Flooring, in Columbus, Ohio were honored for their reclamation efforts at the recent Starnet annual meeting held in Palm Desert, California.
The Awards are given to Starnet members for the largest amount of annual landfill diversion based on 2008 sales volume. For the second year running, Sergenian's Floor Coverings received the medium- sized member award for diverting more than 515,000 pounds of used carpet from the landfill. In the large size member category, also for two years running, Legacy Commercial Flooring, with 5 service locations in Ohio, diverted more than 1.2 Million pounds of post consumer carpet.
Jeanne Matson, President and CEO of Starnet comments, "These Starnet Member firms set the bar for the environmental commitment of our entire Membership and for all flooring industry participants. We are very pleased with their efforts and the success of the Starnet/CARE reclamation program."
Richard D. Kruse
Owner – Kruse Enterprises
Dick is the owner of Kruse Enterprises which consists of K.M Farms, Kruse Leasing LLC., Kruse Properties and Kruse Carpet Recycling.
Dick was first introduced to carpet recycling as a hauler of post-consumer carpet for an Evergreen facility in Indianapolis. Since that time, Kruse Carpet Recycling has grown into a business that recycles/reuses approximately 20 million pounds of post-consumer carpet per year. The day-to-day operations and management of Kruse Carpet Recycling is handle by the president and majority owner Kasey Kruse. Learn more about Kasey and get a female owner's perspective about the carpet recycling industry.
Dick participates on boards for the Indiana Business Bank, Endowment Board for the Second Presbyterian Church, Mothershead Foundation and the Dean's Advisory Board of Kansas State University.
Dick attended Kansas State University for his undergraduate work and Perdue University for his graduate work.
Dick is married to Katie Kruse. Together they have three children and four grandchildren. The Kruse children are: Matthew, Kasey and Annie.
Richard Ramirez
V.P. Sustainability & Environmental Affairs – SHAW Industries, Inc.
Rick joined Shaw Industries at their headquarters in Dalton, GA in July 2007 as Vice President, Corporate Sustainability & Environmental Affairs.
In this newly created role, Rick provides leadership in the strategic development and implementation of Shaw's internal and external sustainability and environmental initiatives, including the Shaw Green Edge Sustainability Business Platform. Rick works closely with all Shaw business units to communicate environmental strategy and directs implementation of initiatives within operations, with employees, customers, suppliers, community partners, and other stakeholders.
In April 2008, Shaw launched its Growth & Sustainability Council comprised of a 15-person executive leadership group which Rick chairs.
Over the past 30-plus years, Rick has worked primarily in the chemicals and advanced materials industry with a focus in Environmental, Health, Safety and Regulatory Affairs, but with significant experiences in engineering, quality, and business unit management (including the Engineering Plastics Recycling Business). Before joining Shaw, Rick worked for Celanese Corporation for 26 years in various managerial and executive positions internationally; most recently at Celanese corporate headquarters in Dallas, TX in the Global Operations organization responsible for Sustainability, Real Estate, M&A Due Diligence and Environmental, Health & Safety/Global Remediation.
Rick received his B.S. in Forensic Chemistry from the City U. of New York and his Master's degree in Occupational Health & Safety from New York University. He and his wife Georgina currently live in Chattanooga, TN and they have 2 adult children living in North Carolina.
In an effort to reach a broader audience, the Carpet and Rug Institute has started a blog at http://carpet-and-rug-institute- blog.com/. The CRI blog is designed as a forum for discussing soft floor covering issues, as well as a strategic outpost for tracking the pulse of this great industry.
I encourage you, our members and friends, to follow the link above, and subscribe. You have two options available: subscribe for email updates [new blogposts will go directly to your email inbox] or for updates via RSS feed [to your feedreader – e.g., Bloglines].
Look on the right sidebar for 'Subscribe' and enter your email address into the subscription box. You'll be asked to transcribe some characters – to make sure you're human – which will trigger an email that you will need to open, and then click on the link within to complete the verification process. That's it. You're done!
If you have any comments or ideas for stories, we'd be happy to hear from you.
Bethany Richmond
Carpet & Rug Institute
Reliance was founded in 1931 and serviced the bedding and furniture industries for seventy five years. Now the company manufactures synthetic fiber carpet cushion. Reliance has always been the industry leader in developing new technology to make world class products. Reliance is the first company to produce carpet cushion products made from 100% post-consumer carpet material.
In partnership with CARE, Reliance Eco Cushion now has a fresh new look. As part of CARE's strategy to increase market demand for products that contain post-consumer carpet materials, Reliance and CARE teemed up with marketing professionals to recreate a new look and message for the 75 year old company.
By specifying Reliance Eco Cushion, one can obtain maximum credits in the "Recycled Content" portion of LEED. Architects and designers can assist the carpet reclamation movement by specifying post- consumer carpet products when available.
Do you want to know what is going on in the carpet recycling industry? Are you looking for a way to network with other organizations collecting post- consumer carpet? Are you trying to find ways to increase your company's reach and opportunities? Are you looking for mutually beneficial arrangements to take on large scale carpet reclamation opportunities?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to consider signing up for CARE's Monthly Collector's Call. The calls are hosted and coordinated by carpet recycling veteran and CARE board member, Sean Ragiel of CarpetCycle. The calls are setup to be tool to help collectors and entrepreneurs share market information, collection and processing best practices and potential networking opportunities.
If you are an active collector and interested in joining CARE for the Monthly Collector's Calls, please email the following information:
Note – In order to participate in the monthly collector call, your organization must be an active collector of post-consumer carpet.
June 23, 2009 – Manchester, England – Carpet Recycling UK held their first annual conference at the NSPCC Training Centre in Leicester, with a capacity audience of 100 people eager for knowledge of this new industry.
The keynote speaker Frank Hurd, Chairman of Carpet America Recovery Effort, CARE, outlined their success in creating value from carpet materials and achieving 500,000 tonnes cumulative recycling level.Three members of CARE also attended to share their experiences from carpet collection and sorting to new processes for fibre recovery.
Kate Chappell presented the mass balance for carpet recycling in UK illustrating the estimated 8,000 tonnes recycled in 2008 stimulated by the extensive development work done by Carpet Recycling UK.
Case studies on starting collection, processing, re-use, and raw material recovery were presented by first hand experiences from a group of three different companies i.e. Shredding Services, Axion Consulting, and Cleanstream Networking opportunities also included displays from machinery suppliers, Bolton University, and recyclers.
Frank Hurd stressed the importance of outlets to translate recyclates into new products. In break out groups the audience had the opportunity to focus on outlets of interest to them:
Energy recovery from carpet wastes
Land applications for wool carpets
Roadstone products from bitumen backed tiles
The day concluded with a panel discussion on sources of funding and the potential for government support. Carpet Recycling UK set out the route towards sustainable funding and stressed the importance of majority support from carpet manufacturers and all other members of the carpet value chain. A new membership drive supported by an industry based Board of Directors will be launched in the Autumn.
Visit Carpet Recycling UK's Website
Members of the CARE (Dennis Hayford, Bob Pilotti, Frank Endrenyi, Ron Sherga, and Georgina Sikorski) attended the recent NPE 2009- the world's largest Plastics event. As CARE works towards finding new outlets for post-consumer carpet, NPE is a great way to talk to potential customers and users of post- consumer nylon (PCN). There are over 2000 exhibiting companies here, representing the entire plastics value chain, all under one (very large) roof- from resin manufacturers to compounders to end users.
The theme of the show is 'earth friendly', focusing on sustainability. The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc (SPI), sponsor of NPE, is kicking off a $10 million campaign- "Imagine the Possibilities with Plastics" to get the sustainable message across to millenials. This is a good fit with CARE, as we can help the plastics industry demonstrate its commitment to sustainability by using increasing amounts of PCN.
If you are either directly involved in, or aligned with, the carpet industry, please support the efforts of CARE and do your part to make a sustainable difference. As a member of CARE, you will be part of a nationwide organization that is diverting carpet from the landfill and finding valuable uses for post-consumer carpet.
Organizational Privileges
Networking with other CARE members
Significant Discounts on Annual Meeting
Access to Member Only Resources
Promotion on the CARE Web Site
Use of the CARE Logo
In the Member Only Section, you will now be able to find other members using our Member Directory, access Marketing Materials, apply to present at the next Annual meeting, and enjoy many other features. Check out the CARE website for more information.
Join CARE Now!