Sonoco Expanding Residential Recycling of Paper Cups to its Mill in Hartsville, South Carolina

Sonoco (NYSE: SON) today announced it is expanding post-consumer recovery and recycling opportunities for paper cups in bales of mixed paper to be used as raw material at its Hartsville, S.C., paperboard mill to produce new paperboard.

All of Sonoco’s United States paper mills have previously validated that they can accept rigid paper cans in bales of mixed paper coming from residential Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). This new announcement extends acceptance to paper cups at the Hartsville mill. Additional testing is underway with the aim of expanding cup recycling to all Sonoco mills that utilize residential mixed paper.

“Sonoco is uniquely positioned as a leading recycler, paper mill operator and paper packaging converter to help push the industry to look towards future innovations and grow end of life solutions across the entire paper value chain,” said Elizabeth Rhue, Vice President of Global Environmental, Sustainability, and Centralized Technology. “After validating that our mills could recycle EnviroCan paper containers in residential mixed paper, we decided to further demonstrate the ability to recycle other similar polycoated fiber-based containers through the post-consumer mixed paper stream.”

This collaboration across Sonoco’s U.S. vertically integrated manufacturing network further demonstrates the flexibility the Company possesses to recycle and process fiber-based packaging through conventional paper mill pulping systems.
“Sonoco’s recycling efforts have grown with the increased need for fiber used to make packaging – that now includes paper cups,” said Natha Dempsey, President of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. “It is encouraging to see Sonoco, a leader in recycling, join the list of mills and end markets that continue to expand their abilities to ensure we recover valuable materials. These domestic markets are critical to the success of recycling and sustainable resource management.”

“This is one of many steps Sonoco is taking to further our commitment to responsible material sourcing at our manufacturing operations, while building material circularity into the broader industry,” Rhue said. “If a consumer recycles a paper cup or an EnviroCan paper container, and it is sorted into the mixed paper stream, the products can now be sent to our Hartsville mill to be turned into a number of new fiber products, including new EnviroCan containers.”
https://investor.sonoco.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sonoco-expanding-residential-recycling-paper-cups-its-mill

Related Posts

SEE, ExxonMobil, and Ahold Delhaize USA Collaborate on Groundbreaking Circularity Initiative

SEE, ExxonMobil, and Ahold Delhaize USA announced their collaboration on an advanced recycling initiative, the first of its kind in the U.S. The project recycles flexible plastics from the food supply chain and remakes them into new, certified circular food-grade packaging. The initiative is expected to begin this summer and scale over time. “We’re proud to work with SEE and ExxonMobil on this collaboration, which has the potential to radically change the way retailers and manufacturers leverage food-grade recycled plastics as a key means of keeping plastics out of landfills,” said Brittni Furrow, VP, Health & Sustainability, Ahold Delhaize USA. “We’re eager to learn from this work and apply the learnings to advance our own plastics ambitions, but also advance these efforts broadly, helping to ensure a better tomorrow for our planet.” A critical challenge facing the food industry is driving a circular economy for plastics using packaging materials that have strict hygiene and performance requirements for food protection and distribution. Recovering these essential packaging materials requires innovative recycling solutions beyond traditional mechanical recycling.

PEFC calls on world leaders to recognise the crucial contribution of forest certification in tackling climate change

PEFC works to protect, responsibly manage, and further enhance forests, which are probably the most well-known nature-based solution for climate change. Our objective is to increase forests’ capacity to address societal challenges, such as climate change, effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously promoting the use of sustainably sourced wood products, which can help us to substantially accelerate the transition to low-carbon economies. “Sustainable forest management can maintain or enhance forest carbon stocks, and can maintain forest carbon sinks, including by transferring carbon to wood products […]. Where wood carbon is transferred to harvested wood products, these can store carbon over the long-term and can substitute for emissions-intensive materials reducing emissions in other sectors”, highlights the IPCC “with high confidence”.

U.S. Paper and Wood Products Manufacturers Report Sustainability Progress

The American Forest & Paper Association released its 2020 Sustainability Report, highlighting the paper and wood products industry’s sustainability efforts, including members’ progress toward achieving the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals. 2020 AF&PA Sustainability Report accomplishments (based on 2018 calendar year performance, except where noted) include: • AF&PA member companies achieved a 38.4 percent improvement in the safety incidence rate from the 2006 baseline, surpassing the 25 percent goal. • AF&PA members adhere to sustainable fiber procurement principles, which assure that wood is sourced from suppliers who are committed to sustainable management and harvesting practices. • AF&PA members’ purchased energy use per ton of product was 13.3 percent lower than the baseline year, surpassing the goal to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent. • Members surpassed their goal, reducing GHG emissions – measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) per ton of product – by 23.2 percent from the 2005 baseline.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search