Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C., USA, has granted a silver-level Sonoco Sustainability Star Award to its Display & Packaging facility in Iowa City, Iowa, for successful and exemplary efforts to reduce its waste to landfill and implement sustainability-oriented processes.

Administered by Sonoco Recycling, the Sonoco Sustainability Star Awards program is comprised of three tiers. Gold awards recognize facilities that have achieved 99% landfill diversion; silver awards honor facilities achieving 95% landfill diversion; and bronze awards distinguish facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements, such as drastically reducing their waste streams or implementing a new composting system.

The Iowa City facility worked to capture more recyclable materials from its production waste streams as well as its office and break spaces. To limit employee access to landfill streams, an electronic lock was placed on the trash compactor, and specific individuals were designated and trained to manage waste streams and identify recyclables to be diverted. To make recycling easier, recycling containers were placed on each production line, as well as in office and break areas. Ultimately, these changes resulted in 98% of waste being diverted from the landfill.

"Sonoco’s Iowa City facility has worked hard and found creative solutions to drastically reduce their waste to landfill in a short period of time," said Mike Pope, general manager and president, Sonoco Recycling. "They’ve set a great example for other Sonoco facilities to follow."