Partnering with a number of recycling companies, Superior Floors has established a collection procedure to bring post-consumer carpets and pad to various centers for recycling. Recycling is an important part of our waste removal process. By recycling, we can all help save natural resources, reduce amounts of chemicals absorbed into the earth, conserve energy and save landfill space. These efforts create a “peace of mind” for our customers with their green initiatives.

Did you know?

Along with newspaper/paper products, magazines, glass, aluminum cans, steel food cans, No.1 and No.2 plastic bottles/containers, carpet and pad can be recycled!

As a valued customer of Superior Floors, you will receive this service which will help our nation with the overall recycling effort. With each installation, we pledge that all carpet and pad products removed will be hauled to our location. The products will then be sorted, separated, and then distributed to various recycling plants for processing.

How does this impact you?

Superior Floors is very committed to doing our part of cleaning up the environment. We will ensure our customers that their carpet and pad waste will be handled safely and in compliance with all federal environmental regulations.

We have partnered with each of our manufacturer’s – Mohawk, Shaw, Flexible Foam, etc. - to recycle their products. Each manufacturer has a recycling program in place and actively collecting old materials to renew again into other materials. A diagram of Shaw’s Green Edge Initiative below:

Recycling Facts:

FACT: Recycling reduces toxic air emissions.

o Using recycled materials helps avoid air pollution typically caused by manufacturing plants that rely solely on unprocessed, virgin raw materials. Mining for virgin ores involves cutting open vast tracks of land, constructing huge mechanical land movers to churn up the earth, contaminating the air, nearby rivers, lakes, and streams. Some of these pollutants are known to be carcinogenic or toxic to humans.1

o Carbon emissions are 40 times lower when recycled beverage containers are used to make new aluminum as compared to the use of virgin ore. Our aluminum beverage cans contain an average of 55 percent recycled content.2

o Carbon emissions from making steel, copper, glass, and paper from recycled materials are 4 to 5 times lower than making these products from virgin materials. In 1996, recycling these materials reduced carbon emissions by 33 million tons.2

o When organic wasters, such as leaves, grass clipping, and paper from recycled materials, we reduce the generation of methane gas in landfills. Second only to fossil-fuel combustion, landfills are a leading source of greenhouse gases.2

FACT: Recycling reduces energy consumption.

o Products made from the 57 million tons of recycled materials in 1996 saved energy to supply 4 million households with enough energy for a year. More than 408 TRILLION Btus were saved that year alone. 3

o Recycling aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin ores, and 42 percent of all aluminum production contains recovered aluminum. 3

o Recycling three different grades of plastic shows a new energy savings in the range of 70-90% over manufacturing similar products from virgin oil. Most energy used for the manufacturing of consumer products involves burning of coal, oil, or other fossil fuels, either directly by the manufacturer or through the purchase of electricity generated by fossil fuel burning utilities. 1

o Recycling paper results in energy savings in every category. 4
" Tissue paper - 54% energy savings
" Newsprint - 34% energy savings
" Printing/writing paper - 33% energy savings
" Corrugated cardboard - 24% energy savings

FACT: Recycling results in more products with less pollution.

o In 1996, the use of 57 million tons of recycled materials for manufacturing products reduced carbon emissions equivalent to removing 25 million cars from the road. The materials expected to be recycled in 2005 will reduce carbon emissions equivalent to removing 36 million cars from the roads. 2

o When the paper industry produces recycled-content paper, more trees are left standing to absorb carbon and generate oxygen. Though the federal government only buys 2 percent of all the copier paper sold in the United States, the impact of Executive Order 12101, directing all federal agencies to purchase 30% recycled-content copier paper only, will result in 450,000 to 500,000 fewer trees cut down for paper production, 16,000 tons of carbon absorbed annually by the trees that remain standing, 14 percent reduction in energy use, 13 percent reduction in the amount of solid waste, and 13 percent reduction in water pollutants. 3

o Today, 67 percent of the steel produced in the United States is made from recovered steel. Electric arc furnaces recycle iron and steel scraps using only a fraction of the energy required in traditional steel mills, and the recycled metals reduces the impact of mining operations. 3

o Our aluminum beverage cans contain an average of 55 percent recycled content. The industry buys more than $1 billion in recovered aluminum cans at prices that continue to make aluminum recycling an obvious economic success for community recycling programs. 3

o Recycling plastic containers into resin-pellets or new products involves mostly mechanical processes like shredding and heating and used very few process chemicals, none of which are hazardous. 1

o More people recycle household waste than vote in elections.3

---

Reprinted with permission from Keep Texas Beautiful.

1 Source: National Resource Defense Council "Too Good to Throw Away, Recycling's Proven Record",
http://www.nrdc.org/cities/recycling/recyc/chap1.asp
2 Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, "Background Press Information. Municipal Solid Waste Reduction: Is It Worth It?"
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/worthit.pdf
3 Source: Office of the Federal Environment Executive, White House Task Force on Recycling, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "Recycling….for the Future: Consider the Benefits"
http://www.ofee.gov/wpr/future.pdf
4 Source: Roberta Forsell Stauffer (National Appropriate Technology Assistance Service), "Energy Savings from Recycling," Resource Recycling Magazine, January/February 1989
http://www.resource-recycling.com