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Armstrong Commercial Flooring’s Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT) Flooring Recycling Program is the first program of its kind to recycle all Armstrong VCT flooring products as well as competitor VCT products.
Recycling is part of the Armstrong cradle-to-cradle process designed to reduce environmental impact; less waste goes into landfills, there is less use of natural resources, less energy consumption and less greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2009, Armstrong has been piloting its VCT Recycling Program with national retailers and the company has successfully recycled over one million pounds of recycled post-consumer VCT material back into new VCT product.
This program creates value for customers in two ways: by allowing them to recycle their old VCT flooring and by allowing for the creation of new high recycled content VCT flooring products.
Building owners can quickly and easily ship old VCT flooring from renovation projects to an Armstrong flooring plant as an alternative to landfill disposal. Under the program, Armstrong provides containers for collecting the material and pays freight costs for shipping the old VCT flooring, which it uses as raw materials in the manufacture of new, high-performance flooring products.
According to Amy Costello, Armstrong’s Sustainability Manager for Commercial Flooring, the company has a long history of diverting post-industrial and post-consumer waste from landfills by using waste from other industries to manufacture its flooring; founder Thomas Armstrong began using waste from his bottle cork manufacturing facility to manufacture linoleum in 1909. The VCT recycling program takes this environmental heritage a step further.
“The program is designed to help our customers reduce their impact on the environment by redirecting used VCT flooring from landfills back to Armstrong, thereby creating a closed loop manufacturing process," Costello says. "We have a history of commitment to manufacture our products in an environmentally responsible fashion. Through the recycling program, we honor that commitment by offering a valuable end to what typically would have been thrown away."
Program Steps
The program involves a few simple steps. First, building owners need to verify with Armstrong (Call 877-276-7876, option 2, then 7) that their old VCT can be recycled. The old VCT does not need to be an Armstrong product to qualify for the program.
Once a material is qualified, Armstrong will provide specially labeled boxes for owners to scrap old tile into for pick-up. More detailed information on packaging procedures is available from Armstrong.
Once the material is ready for pick-up, the owner simply needs to contact Armstrong. The company will then arrange for a truck to pick up the material anywhere in the continental United States and transfer it to its nearest manufacturing facility. Armstrong will pay the freight for shipment to the plant.
The process for recycling old flooring has proven to be as fast as removing the material for disposal in a landfill, so the program has little, if any, adverse impact on demolition schedules. It can also be less costly than the cost of local handling, transport, dumpster and landfill fees.
Flooring Contain Recycled Materials
All Armstrong VCT flooring contains recycled materials, and Raffia® and Chromospin® specifically contain post-consumer material supplier through the VCT program. Learn more about AFP’s VCT Recycling Program at Armstrong.com.
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of floors, ceilings and cabinets. In 2011, Armstrong's consolidated net sales totaled approximately $2.9 billion. Based in Lancaster, Pa., Armstrong operates 32 plants in eight countries and has approximately 9,100 employees worldwide. Established in 1860, Armstrong celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010. For more information visit www.armstrong.com.
