Universal Textile Technologies Inc., Dalton, Ga., and Yellowstone National Park have entered into a recycling partnership under which Universal Textile will buy the plastic bottles collected by Yellowstone and convert them into a nonwoven fleece material used to manufacture BioCel™ and EnviroCel™ sustainable backings for carpet and synthetic turf. The backings utilize Celceram™, a highly refined material recovered from coal combustion in electric utility power plants and then combined with soybean-based polyols. They are certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program; and are moisture-resistant, insulate against energy loss, reduce ambient noise and strengthen the structural integrity of carpet and synthetic turf, according to the company.

May/June 2011