Packaging

City of Hartsville, Sonoco Recycling Announce Recycling Pilot Program

Friday 29. April 2011 - Initiative focused on growing commercial and residential recycling in the City

The City of Hartsville and Sonoco Recycling, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), today announced the launch of a six-year recycling pilot program for the City.
Aimed at increasing commercial and residential recycling, the pilot program was kicked off during a press conference held today at Saffron, a family-owned local restaurant. Speakers at the press conference included Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington and Sonoco executive Marcy Thompson, a member the Company’s Sustainability Council and former division vice president of Sonoco Recycling.
“Clearly, our goal at the City is to improve the environment and quality of life for the citizens and businesses here in Hartsville,” said Pennington. “Working with Sonoco Recycling, which is headquartered here in Hartsville, we will be piloting an initiative to implement a new single-stream recycling program in our community and to increase the kind of materials that can be collected. In addition, we will jointly develop a ‘voluntary’ program specifically aimed at increasing recycling efforts for local businesses, educational institutions and our citizens.”
Thompson agrees the new program will increase and modernize recycling services throughout Hartsville. “We actually began working with the City late last year on transitioning from dual- to single-stream waste collections, and the results have been pretty astounding,” she said. “In fact, since the first of this year, the number of tons being recycled has tripled. As we continue to make improvements in the services offered, this number should only go up.”
As part of the pilot, Sonoco Recycling will continue to assist the City in converting from dual-stream curbside collection and sorting to an expanded single-stream process. The types of materials acceptable for recycling also will be expanded. In addition, the City will continue switching from 16-gallon bins to 95-gallon roll carts, which will help drive recycling participation and divert additional materials away from landfills. The City began switching to roll carts in late 2010, with participation by local businesses such as Saffron. The Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and the Hartsville Downtown Development Association and its member businesses will be participating in the pilot program.
Sonoco Recycling is a recycling leader with locations and expertise worldwide. Annually, it collects more than 3 million tons of old corrugated containers, various grades of paper, metals and plastics. In addition, the Company has experts who provide secure, reliable and innovative recycling solutions to residential and commercial customers. Currently, Sonoco Recycling operates three material recovery facilities (MRFs) serving more than 125 communities in which curbside-collected residential and commercial materials are processed. The Company also operates recycling programs which identify waste reduction opportunities that reduce operating expenses for many of the largest consumer product companies in the U.S.
Marcy Thompson served as division vice president of Sonoco Recycling when discussions regarding the pilot program began with the City of Hartsville. She was recently promoted to vice president of Rigid Paper and Closures, North America.