Target has been named Flooring Recycler of the Year by Armstrong World Industries for recycling vinyl composition tile (VCT) materials during demolition projects. Target, which began implementing the recycling of VCT material in 2011 in conjunction with the Armstrong VCT Recycling Program, reclaimed more than 1.2 million pounds of VCT from its stores throughout the US in 2012.

Armstrong’s VCT Recycling Program is the first to recycle its own VCT flooring products as well as competitors’ products, writes Floorcovering News. Armstrong says it has reclaimed and recycled more than four million pounds of post-consumer VCT, diverting 2,000 tons of material from landfill.

Target maintains a goal of reducing operating waste sent to landfill by 15 percent by fiscal year 2015. The company sent 33 percent of waste to landfill in 2011, a 1 percent increase over its 2009 baseline. Target attributes the increase in certain categories of waste to changing regulatory requirements. In 2012, the company’s ongoing in-store recycling program and new operational recycling programs helped to offset this increase. The company says it is on track to reach its 2015 goal.

Armstrong’s VCT Recycling Program offers free freight from the job site to the nearest Armstrong plant for recycling. The materials are reclaimed and recycled into new VCT products. The company points out that using its recycling program for VCT materials saves on the cost of sending material to landfill. For example, in Seattle, Washington, a company using Armstrong’s program can save $1,252 per truck by not sending materials to landfill. In Omaha, Nebraska, the savings is $764 per truck. The program to date has recycled over 3 million pounds of post-consumer VCT.