There's no recession at Augusta's Evergreen Nylon Recycling Plant.
The company's 60 manufacturing employees have found job security in the carpet recycling business, said David Harless, the technical manager.
"The plant is doing very well. We're in the middle of a production run right now that is the longest continuous run ever at Evergreen," Mr. Harless said.
Meanwhile, its owner, Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw Industries Group Inc., has laid off more than 760 employees this year, according to the Georgia Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification layoff list. Shaw has closed plants because of reduced market demand for certain flooring products, according to a news release.
"Two and a half years later, it's not only running, but it's thriving. This facility will continue to run in this economic downturn. There are no plans to shut down the Evergreen plant," Mr. Harless said.
Since restarting in 2007, the plant on Columbia Nitrogen Road has recycled 165 million pounds of carpet. It recycles carpet from collection centers nationwide.
"No one recycles nylon-6 post-consumer carpet at the rate that Evergreen does," Mr. Harless said. "We'll consume about 100 million pounds of consumer carpet a year. That's a huge favorable impact on the environment."
The recycled carpet, which is made from a particular type of nylon, is placed in industrial-size shredders and melted. Then it is put in a reactor for depolymerization and is purified. The end product, recycled caprolactam, the raw material used to make nylon carpet fibers, is sent to a Shaw factory in Columbia to be converted into new carpet.
"This recycled product is of equal quality to virgin quality caprolactam," Mr. Harless said. "Shaw is a very good corporate citizen with regard to the environment. Evergreen is just a very big part of that sustainability effort."
In 2007 Shaw acquired the facility as part of its Shaw Green Edge initiative from DSM Chemicals and Honeywell International, which developed the plant as a joint venture in 1999.
Evergreen Plant contracts with DSM Chemicals, which operates the plant and supplies contract maintenance workers. RBW Logistics Corp. stores the carpet.
"It's an exciting facility. Evergreen has a very bright future," Mr. Harless said.
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
225
Millions of pounds of post-consumer carpet collected by Shaw Industries Group Inc. since 2007
165
Millions of pounds of carpet recycled by Evergreen Nylon Recycling Plant since 2007
25-30
Millions of pounds of caprolactam the plant produces each year
Source: David Harless, of Evergreen Nylon Recycling Plant
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Wonder where the dirt from all those old carpets ends up? Probably the river.
Actually, it doesn't; I helped build this plant and was also instrumental in the start up of the plant. Baled carpet is introduced into the shredders and during the process, any metallic debris is removed magnetically, and any sand or dirt conveyed along with the shredded carpet to begin the "process". This includes a "melting and extrusion" process. During this time, not only is the heat hot enough to melt the nylon, but also any sand or dirt along with it.
This plant was the first of it's type in the global community and is actually quite efficient and productive to the recycling environment.
To: fd1962 on the dirt going into the river. As a matter of fact, they bag it and send it to dirtbags like you. One thing for sure though is that it keeps tons of carpet out of landfills that cost companies/individuals lots of money to dispose of. Now you can quit wondering as it has to be a load on your brain.
LOL Boston93
They must have finally figured out how to keep the plant running, I remember them having a great deal of difficulty with the process in the beginning. In fact, wasn't the plant mothballed for some time?
Glad to see it running well because I have some friends that work there.I was a contractor there and I tip my hat to 'em because it's one stinking,dirty,dangerous place to work.......
Pu, about 6 yrs. Lots of re-engineering has transformed it into a moneymaker. Holdem, the plantwide incident rate is probably the lowest in the area for the size and population. And the smell? That's money.