Shaw Industries Group, Inc. has been recognized with the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) Recycler of the Year award, the company's third CARE award in a row. Shaw Industries was honored for its continued efforts to increase the diversion of post-consumer carpet from landfills.

Since Shaw opened up the Evergreen Nylon Recycling plant in 2007, the company has recycled more than 220 million pounds of post-consumer Nylon 6 carpet and more than 36 million pounds of post-consumer carpet filler. In addition to its current reclamation operations, Shaw continues to research opportunities for ways to utilize waste carpet.

"CARE is very pleased to recognize Shaw Industries with the Recycler of the Year Award," said Georgina Sikorski, exec director, CARE. "Shaw has an outstanding history of investment in people and processes to recycle post-consumer carpet. We are very grateful for Shaw's commitment to the CARE organization and our members."

Additionally, last year Shaw began construction of Re2E (Reclaim to Energy), a first-of-its kind, carpet-fueled co-generation facility in Dalton, Ga. The facility will consume 76 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial carpet annually and will generate electricity and steam power for one of the company's carpet mills, according to Shaw.

Another example of Shaw's strategy is its creation of the Materials Recovery Strategic Business Unit. This newly staffed team is dedicated to developing products derived from all types of post-consumer carpets and then finding paths to markets for these newly-created products.

Also at the awards presentation, Sikorski was named CARE Person of the Year. Since joining CARE in 2009, Sikorski has guided the group through overwhelmingly difficult economic conditions, managing during that time to significantly increase both revenues and membership -- CARE membership currently stands at 280, up from 50 just a year earlier. In addition, the CARE Board of Directors has made remarkable progress towards the organization's corporate goals of achieving sustainable funding, developing end-markets for post-consumer carpet, and increasing awareness of CARE and its leadership position in carpet recycling.

"Georgina Sikorski is an absolutely fantastic selection for CARE Person of the Year," CARE said in a release. "She has done more in the last year than anyone else to further the goals of CARE. We are on the verge of putting in place a sustainable funding plan and without Georgina's leadership, drive and enthusiasm this would not have been possible. We are delighted to welcome her into a very elite group of CARE Persons of the Year. This is a richly deserved honor."