Carpet Refuse Will Feed Shaw Plant

The project has been in the works for more than three years.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 7/21/2005

A system installed in a new Shaw Industries power plant in Dalton, Georgia will allow the plant--one of the manufacturer’s largest--to use its own scraps and sawdust for fuel. The move is expected to save the flooring manufacturer up to $2.5 million each year.

"This is really a bold undertaking for the company," says Gary Nichols, the Shaw energy manager who heads up the project for Plant 81, "We’ve never done anything like this before, although it is something (vice president of manufacturing) Bill Barron has been considering for a long time. In the past three to four years energy costs and technology have come together at the right time to make this a viable project."

Shaw collaborated with engineers from Siemens Building Technology to plan the facility, which they say resolves flaws in failed endeavors by other companies.

Approximately 15,000 tons of postindustrial carpet waste, 1000 tons of post-consumer carpet waste, and 6000 tons of wood flour are expected to be saved from landfill deposit each year through a process called gasification, which converts waste to steam energy.  Plant emissions will also be reduced.

The facility is projected to be fully operational by the end of 2005.