Sonoco's Union, S.C., Rigid Plastics Plant Receives Bronze Sustainability Star Award

HARTSVILLE, S.C., Jan. 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonoco (NYSE:SON), one of the largest diversified packaging companies, has named its Pinckney Paragon rigid plastics facility in Union, S.C., a Bronze Sustainability Star Award recipient for the plant's successful efforts to achieve landfill free status.

The award marks a milestone in landfill-free efforts that have been underway since 2013. Since then, the Pinckney Paragon plant has diverted 260 loose yards per month away from the landfill in the forms of scrap plastic, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, paper cores, wooden pallets, stretch wrap and banding; an improvement of more than 50%.

"I'm extremely proud of the Pinckney Paragon team members for their efforts to drive to landfill free status," said John Babinski, plant manager. "They have explored multiple waste streams and developed avenues to recycle, reuse and repurpose. We've found that many items we were previously discarding have value, thus making this effort not only good for the environment but good for business, as well."

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.

About Sonoco:

Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized combined sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the Company has more than 21,000 employees working in more than 340 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world's best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2014/2015 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.

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