Sonoco Display and Packaging's US plant achieves landfill-free status

Sonoco Recycling, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco, announced that its Display and Packaging's Rural Hall, North Carolina, the US facility has successfully diverted over 99% of its waste from landfills.

In 2011, employees at Sonoco's Rural Hall fulfillment facility formed Team Green to help focus on the goal of achieving landfill-free status in two years. The team began its recycling program by reviewing, monitoring and restricting access to the dumpster. Common recycling areas were set up in production and office areas, and employees were encouraged to bring in their recyclables from home. Once this was accomplished, process and procedures were put into place to help collect, distribute and assess new recyclables as they were encountered.

A component of Rural Hall's recycling program is the initiative to reuse articles that aren't easily recyclable. Many old inventory items such as bags or boxes, previously slated as waste, are now distributed among employees. This initiative also includes items that can be reused by local non-profit organizations. Used work gloves are given to Goodwill, and scrap bubble wrap and other items that were once thrown away now benefit non-profit educational programs within the community. Used computers, printers and other inventory items are donated to public schools in need of supplies for art or learning.

To help further promotes recycling an Employee Recycling Account was setup to collect funds from the newly formed waste streams. This account is dumped at the end of the year and is evenly split among all permanent employees as an award for their participation in these recycling efforts.

"In just two years, Team Green was able to divert over 99% of Rural Hall's waste through a mix of recycling, reuse and waste-to-energy," says Rodger Fuller, Group Vice President, Paper and Industrial Converted, North America. "They've shown great initiative in achieving landfill-free status."