LANCASTER, PA. – Two Armstrong Recycling Programs were honored recently with 2013 Pennsylvania Waste Watcher Awards for outstanding practices in the recycling field.

The awards, which were presented by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP), recognize significant contributions in recycling, waste reduction, reuse, and composting programs in Pennsylvania during 2012.

In 2012, Armstrong recycled over 17.8 million square feet of old ceiling and flooring tiles, preventing more than 8,400 tons or roughly 2,542 dumpsters full of construction waste from being deposited in landfills.

The Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program, the oldest and longest-running program of its kind, was responsible for recycling most of this waste. Through this program alone, Armstrong last year recycled over 16.4 million square feet of old ceiling tiles, diverting more than 7,400 tons or roughly 2,342 dumpsters full of discarded ceilings away from landfills.

Through its Flooring Recycling Program, Armstrong recycled over 1.4 million square feet of old VCT (vinyl composition) flooring tiles during 2012, eliminating another 1,000 tons or about 200 dumpsters full of construction debris from the waste stream.

Both of these recycling programs enable commercial building owners and contractors to ship old ceiling and VCT flooring tiles from demolition and renovation projects to the nearest Armstrong recycling facility as an alternative to landfill disposal.

Armstrong uses the discarded ceiling and flooring tiles to manufacture new ceiling and flooring products through a closed loop recycling process.

Since it began its Ceiling Recycling Program in 1999, Armstrong has recycled over 123 million square feet of discarded ceiling tiles. This represents more than 61,500 tons of construction waste that has been diverted from landfills. The newer Flooring Recycling Program began operating in 2009. Since then, Armstrong has recycled over 2.8 million square feet of discarded VCT flooring tiles, diverting another 2,000 tons of construction debris away from landfills.

For additional information on the Armstrong Ceiling Recycling Program, visit armstrong.com/recycling, and for information on Armstrong’s Flooring Recycling Program visit www.armstrong.com\vctrecycling. PROP is a non-profit, non-partisan statewide association of recycling professionals dedicated to promoting and enhancing recycling, organics management, and waste reduction programs in Pennsylvania.  For information on PROP, visit www.proprecycles.org.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of floors and ceilings. In 2012, Armstrong consolidated net sales from continuing operations totaled approximately $2.6 billion. Based in Lancaster, Pa., Armstrong operates 34 plants in eight countries and has approximately 8,700 employees worldwide.