Carpet manufacturer Shaw Industries Group Inc. will add a recycling operation in Ringgold, Ga., at a cost of $17 million.

The new Evergreen facility creates 70 jobs and expands the Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw’s reclamation and recycling program, according to a news release.

The Evergreen Ringgold unit will create a high-purity, post-consumer recycled material that can be used in a range of applications.

“Evergreen Ringgold expands our efforts to keep end-of-use carpet out of landfills,” said Paul Murray, Shaw vice president of sustainability and environmental affairs. “By expanding our recycling portfolio, we are illustrating our continued commitment to converting something that historically may have been seen as waste into a resource that has a longer life in the economy.”
The new recycling operation should begin operations in 2015 and will be located in a former Shaw rug distribution center. Georgia’s QuickStart workforce training program will work with Shaw to train the workers for the facility.

Shaw also has committed 100-percent of its products to being certified in its Cradle-to-Cradle program.