Product Circularity

Recover:  Responsible Product End-of-Life

Managing the environmental factors that contribute to sustainable products is somewhat easier during the make and use phases of flooring’s life cycle because those variables are in Mohawk’s control—we can design sustainability into our products and reduce inputs in manufacturing. To truly achieve product circularity, we also need to take responsibility for our products at end-of-life. That represents a challenge since we typically rely on end-users to work with us to keep our products out of landfills. Mohawk encourages customers to make better decisions by managing programs that recover, reuse and recycle flooring.

Our award-winning ReCover Recycling Program in North America and Europe diverts flooring from landfills through a partnership with external vendors. With just a phone call, we will arrange for the removal, pickup and delivery to a processor of any type of flooring, regardless of whether we manufactured it. Used flooring is then donated to nonprofit organizations or recycled through a network of partners across North America and Europe.

In our Global Ceramic segment, Dal-Tile’s GREENWORKS^TM program offers the building industry a take-back alternative to landfill disposal of waste or unused materials that may result from demolition/construction projects or inventory reduction programs.

Unilin has also implemented take-back programs for various products, including wood-based panels, flooring and insulation materials. Converting end-of-life products into new ones is an important aspect of Unilin’s circular economy model, including the transformation of polyurethane and polyisocyanurate insulation boards into alternative products with unique properties. Unilin Panels is also the first business in the world to recycle wood fibers from medium-density fiberboard and high-density fiberboard materials and reuse them for new boards.

In Australia, GH Commercial offers a dual approach for its take-back program. Products in good condition are repurposed in new installations, benefiting a range of recipients from charities to schools. Meanwhile, products that have reached the end of their life cycle find new purpose by being transformed into materials like concrete.