March 14, 2007—The Society of Plastics Engineers recognized InterfaceFABRIC, Inc., with its “New Technologies in Renewables” award for the company’s biobased fabric composting project. InterfaceFABRIC was recognized as a pioneer in using increasingly sustainable technologies. InterfaceFABRIC makes panel and upholstery fabrics for commercial interiors, primarily marketing to original equipment manufacturers (OEM).
InterfaceFABRIC was acknowledged for keeping materials in the technical loop – by recycling through its fabric reclamation program, ReSKU.
InterfaceFABRIC teamed up with Michigan State University Extension and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as well as customer Herman Miller, Inc., and Shade Side Farm in Holland, Michigan, to experiment with a composting project for one of the company’s biobased Terratex fabrics. While PLA is biobased, early attempts by others to biodegrade the polymer has not been success, says InterfaceFABRIC.
By introducing fabric scraps to a composting process at Shade Side Farm that includes waste sawdust, straw, poultry manure, and a pilot-scale rotary drum compost vessel, the project team was able to experiment with the time, temperature, moisture, pH, aeration, odor, carbon, and nitrogen metabolism required to achieve complete degradation of the polymer. Key to the process was keeping the compost clear of any toxic chemicals via InterfaceFABRIC Dye and Chemical Protocol during the yarn handling state and throughout the manufacturing process.
For more information visit the InterfaceFABRIC Web site.
