Clear Path Recycling Reports Initial Start-Up of PET Recycling Facility

Clear Path Recycling, LLC (CPR), the PET recycling joint venture company established by Shaw Industries Group, Inc. and DAK Americas LLC, announces that it has began processing operations in July.

Created to produce Recycled PET (RPET) flake from post-consumer PET bottles, CPR will bring the first phase of its Fayetteville, N.C. facility to full capacity in the fourth quarter of this year. The formation of CPR was announced in April 2009. Since construction began on the recycling facility, 57 full-time positions have been created.

Shaw and DAK will be the primary users of the recycled RPET Flake (Recycled PET bottles) in their respective polyester based products including carpets, fibers and resins. The remaining product will be sold for merchant use. The inventory build of waste bottles to be recycled is well underway with approximately 20 million pounds of inventory being maintained.

By the end of the first phase of the project, the operation will have the capability to recycle up to 160 million pounds of PET bottles, which will save over 550,000 cubic yards of landfill space each year. The energy savings related to the Clear Path Recycling operation will save over 1.4 trillion BTUs of energy annually, which is equal to the amount of primary energy necessary to power over 10,000 U.S. homes per year, according to Energy Information Administration data.

Future plans for the facility would increase the recycling rate to 280 million pounds or about 5 billion bottles per year. “The start-up of the facility is a milestone for CPR and it’s parent companies in their Sustainability initiatives of reducing environmental impact while creating a viable product for use in their product offerings,” according to Ron Salati, Vice President, CPR.