Carpet recycling group wins award

Published 9:22 am Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Dalton-based Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) has received a 2009 Business Achievement Award from the Environmental Business Journal for the group’s achievements in diverting post-consumer carpet from America’s landfills. CARE won a Project Merit award in the category of Sustainability and Resource Protection.

CARE was honored for its work in “finding market-based solutions for the recycling and reuse of post-consumer carpet, [and] for diverting over 1.3 billion pounds of carpet from the landfills since 2002,” according to CARE executive director Georgina Sikorski. The award notes how in 2008 carpet recycling reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and employed more than 1,100 people. The award notes that “CARE is now a model for other voluntary recycling organizations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.”

“It is gratifying to be recognized by an organization committed to environmental business,” Sikorski said. “The three aspects of sustainability — environmental achievement, social responsibility and economic strength — must work together for success, and I’m happy to see CARE recognized for being strong in all three areas.”

CARE’s award will be presented at the Environmental Business Journal’s eighth annual Environmental Industry Summit on March 3 in San Diego.