Shaw Industries was recently honored as Large Recycler of the Year by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). The award recognizes that Shaw has recycled more product than any other cradle-to-cradle recycling effort – about 100 million pounds of post-consumer carpet at its Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility.

Randy Merritt, Shaw’s president, said the award proved that his company has “come a long way in implementing its cradle-to-cradle products.”

“Beyond the ability to design a product for reclamation and recycling through Evergreen, we had to organize and facilitate a nationwide collections network to service our customers’ recycling needs,” he said. “It is a great honor for Shaw to be recognized by CARE for its recycling successes.”

Shaw’s nationwide collection efforts have kept 165 million pounds of carpet from the landfill, according to the company. The network operates collection points across the United States and in most major markets. The network’s post consumer carpet collection manager, Russ Delozier, was named CARE’s Person of the Year for 2007.

“Russ and his committed team have played a major role in the implementation of our collection network,” said Rick Ramirez, vp sustainability and environmental affairs for Shaw. “I am pleased that CARE recognized him for the leadership role that he is playing in bringing carpet recycling options to our customers and communities at large.”

CARE is a joint industry and government initiative aimed at promoting carpet recycling, reuse and waste reduction.