Dalton, Ga.-based carpet manufacturer and floor covering provider Shaw Industries Group Inc., a
subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., reports its Tuftex carpet manufacturing plant in Santa Fe
Springs, Calif., has been named the 2010 Facility of the Year by the California Water Environment
Association (CWEA) in recognition of the plant’s innovative wastewater, stormwater and air quality
conservation efforts and waste management practices. Shaw was presented the award last month at
CWEA’s 38th annual P3S Training Conference & Exhibition.
Sustainability initiatives at the plant include diverting residual waste from landfills to a
waste-to-energy facility in Commerce, Calif.; recycling its entire carpet production waste into
pre-consumer recycled content; and using low mono-nitrogen oxides burners on two ship-scale boilers
to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions into the air. The facility has received CalRecycle’s Waste
Reduction Awards Program award for six years running, as well as the Central Basin Municipal Water
District’s Visionary Stewardship Award.
“As a local manufacturer, it was important to Shaw to implement environmentally responsible
practices, especially those that drastically conserve water at the facility, being that the
Colorado River — which provides water for our county — has remained in a drought for the past 11
years,” said Bill Woyshner, Shaw’sTuftex Divisional Environmental/Safety Manager.
“Shaw’s Santa Fe Springs facility stands out in California for its commitment to
environmentally conscious practices across all aspects of its operations,” said Paul D.
Schmidtbauer, CWEA P3S Awards Committee Chair – South. “From recycling and saving millions of
gallons of water to its ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ status, the facility is a model of best
environmental practices for our state.”
March 8, 2011
