Mohawk celebrates recycling through commissioned artwork

Calhoun, Georgia-based flooring maker Mohawk Industries has commissioned a Brooklyn, New York-based artist to create an interactive art installation designed to “visualize the impact of plastic in the world’s waterways.”

The company says the installation, by Basia Goszczynska, is called “Overflow,” and has been designed to tie into World Ocean Day on June 8. The work has been created using materials sourced from Mohawk’s internal recycling facility. That plant converts polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles into fibers used in Mohawk’s flooring products.

Goszczynska used materials found at different stages of Mohawk’s PET bottle conversion process. As an artist, she explores environmental and waste issues through a variety of mediums, including sculpture, installation, performance, social practice and new media.

Mohawk Industries describes itself as the largest recycler of plastic bottles in North America. In 2019, the company recycled a 7 billion plastic bottles and turned them into 936 million square feet of residential and commercial carpeting. The company says it may have used some 20 percent of PET bottles discarded in the United States last year.

The flooring maker estimates it has recycled 40 billion plastic bottles--equivalent to 1 million tons of plastic scrap.