Sonoco Helps Manufacturers Cut

Source: Greenbiz


Hartsville, S.C., Oct. 22, 2007 -- Industrial and consumer packaging company Sonoco will help manufacturing companies save money by pinpointing waste streams that can be eliminated or reused.

Sonoco Sustainability Solutions (S3) aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. Through the service, an audit of the manufacturing dacility will be performed to evaluate the methods by which the waste is handled.

Sonoco, which iteself collects some 3.5 million tons of recyclable materials each year, will then introduce custom programs to its customers to chip away at the amount of waste generated, thus reducing hauling charges and landfill fees. S3 also will search for new uses for the waste to create a new revenue stream. For example, it is possible to find alternative recycling initiatives for items such as plastic banding, bulk plastic liners and sacks, and flexible packaging.

Sonoco will then analyze how the program is working in terms of financial savings and environmental benefits.

"S3 was originally developed and piloted at 12 Sonoco plants to improve productivity by reducing waste materials going to landfills," saiud Jack sanderes, Sonoco's senior vice president. "However, once we identified the many benefits of the program, we began partnering with some of our customers' locations and found that the service could provide significant productivity savings along with new revenue sources and environmental benefits."