Over a three-day period, more than 84 exhibitors at The International Surface Event (TISE) in Las Vegas, donated 140,765 lbs. of gently used floor covering, stone and tile products. Mountain Re-Source Center (MRC) and its subsidiary, Tile Partners for Humanity, along with Informa Exhibitions U.S., led this initiative with joint participation and support from the Freeman Cos., United Services and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

These sustainability organizations collected a total of 571,725 lbs. of commodity materials that would have otherwise been collected as trash, ending up in a landfill. Officials from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center provided a comprehensive post-show report confirming that as a result of the effort, 80% of the total waste generated from the show was recycled. Recycled materials included cardboard, carpet, carpet pads, concrete, metal, aluminum, paper, plastics, wood crates and pallets.

“From a standpoint of being the premier industry event, as well as a leading organizer of trade shows in the U.S., we are proud of these remarkable results and this initiative,” stated Dana Teague, vice president with Informa Exhibitions U.S. and TISE. “Sustainability touches all of our lives and business, and is truly a social responsibility not to be ignored. Our participating exhibiting companies and partners are making a positive impact by touching lives of local communities where it matters most.” 
 
Through the established MRC partnership, the recycling initiative for TISE is in its fourth consecutive year—maintaining a significant, steady growth in collected product and exhibitor support each year. MRC handles similar recycling programs for other construction-based Informa Exhibitions U.S. shows including DeckExpo, JLC Live NE, JLC Live NW and the Remodeling Show.
 
“We feel a responsibility to make our participating companies aware of the many ways their recycling efforts can be implemented into their year-round business model,” commented Pamela Miller, TISE's associate show manager. “Our Mountain Re-Source Center lead, Ally Venugopal, works hard to convey to our exhibitors that donating their display and product materials might satisfy an immediate need for effective post-show disposal, but that realistically their warehouse inventories, discontinued product lines, and outdated samples can all be considered for continuing donations and tax breaks all year long.”
 
Each year, Informa Exhibitions U.S. provides Mountain Re-Source Center a complimentary booth space on the show floor, enabling on-site representatives to solicit exhibitor donations, answer questions and assist with donor logistics before, during and after the three-day event. Working side-by-side with the staff of the Freeman Cos. and key facility vendors made it all possible. Freeman provided the equipment and resources to remove donated product from the show floor, as well as the manpower needed to strategically pack and load the trailers; United Services provided material transport and cleaning services; and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center spearheaded the massive effort to sort and recycle the remaining waste materials left on-site.
 
Product donations filled eight 53-foot trailers to capacity and one large flatbed stacked high with rolls of carpet. Donations from the show have more than tripled since the program was launched in 2012. The gently-used product was delivered to two charitable organizations—Habitat for Humanity (Las Vegas affiliate) and River Valley Community Outreach Center (Gridley, Calif.).
 
Exhibiting companies of all sizes from the floor covering, stone and tile industries actively participated in the recycling initiative for TISE. Major contributors included:
 
• US Floors
• Dixie Group
• Hallmark Hardwoods
• Herregan Distributors 
• Johnson Hardwood
• Kraus 
• Mannington Mills
• Northwood Industrial Machine
• Phenix Flooring
• QuartzSource
• Quick•Step–Unilin Flooring 
• Stanton Carpet
• Tarkett North America
• Du Chateau 
 
“We can’t say enough about the generosity of the donors and our ongoing partnership with Informa and Freeman," said Herb Miller, MRC's executive director. "Thanks to them, our partners are sharing in a record amount of flooring from TISE. The beautiful materials from this show will support community improvement and help families in need to build stronger homes. Thank you to everyone who made this incredible donation possible.”
 
For more information regarding MRC and Tile Partners for Humanity, visit mountainre-source.org and tpfh.com.