HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Sonoco, one of the largest diversified packaging companies, has named a Procter & Gamble (P&G) fabric care plant in Lima, Ohio, a gold-level Sonoco Sustainability Star Award recipient for the plant’s successful efforts to achieve landfill free status.

In 2014, P&G’s Lima facility set out to be the first fabric care plant in North America to earn the designation of Zero Waste to Landfill. As of Jan. 1, 2015, the facility has achieved this challenging goal – it recycles 97.25% of its waste, and converts the remaining 2.75% of waste to energy by partnering with Covanta, a leading waste-to-energy service. Waste is transported to Covanta’s nearest facility via specially made boxes built to accommodate the plant’s compactor equipment and to minimize the carbon footprint and economic impact of transportation.

“This is a truly innovative program and partnership among Sonoco, Covanta and P&G, delivering outstanding results by keeping waste from landfill, and turning non-reusable waste into energy,”  said Scott Burns, Associate Director leading P&G’s Global Asset Recovery Purchases organization. “A lot of effort  went into this program, with every component of waste being analyzed and successfully solutioned.”

Administered by Sonoco Recycling, the Company’s recycling business, the Sonoco Sustainability Star Awards program is comprised of three tiers:

• Gold recognizes facilities that have achieved 99% landfill diversion;
• Silver is awarded to facilities achieving 95% landfill diversion; and
• Bronze recognizes facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements, such as drastically reducing their waste streams or implementing a new composting system.

A recycling leader with locations and expertise worldwide, Sonoco Recycling annually 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 five 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 United States.