Sonoco leaves recycling void for Richland, Lexington schools

Sonoco Recycling has stopped hauling recyclable materials from South Carolina school districts for free, forcing the districts to make new plans.

In Richland County, where Sonoco hauled schools’ recyclable refuse for free up until March, those new plans will most likely include an added cost in the upcoming school year. But the three school districts are working on a mutual plan to lessen the cost for all three.

In Lexington County, where schools already pay a monthly charge for recycling pick-ups, hauling costs may increase for the next school year.

Sonoco, the international recycler based in Hartsville, abandoned the hauling end of the recycling business earlier this year, the company said – sooner than some had expected – and cited the escalating costs of the service.

Richland County has set up a meeting at Sonoco on Monday with the county’s school districts and the haulers to hash out a solution that officials hope will be affordable to the schools while keeping up momentum for recyling that the school districts and the industry have established, officials said.

“Sonoco has provided pick-up service at schools for many years,” said Jane Hiller, Sonoco Recycling education liaison in Richland County. “We have now sold the hauling part of that business, so we no longer have trucks and drivers going out to pick up materials from schools or businesses.”

Ard’s Containers of Columbia purchased the business, Hiller said, and the company is finishing out Sonoco’s responsibilities with the school districts for the remainder of the school year.

Sonoco reported $4.9 billion in revenue in 2015 and is the only Fortune 500 company based in the Palmetto State. It hauled recyclables for school districts as a public service, but now it will concentrate on its core business – sorting and shipping materials to companies that want to make new products out of recycled materials, Hiller said.

“Basically, we just couldn’t afford to do that anymore,” Hiller said.

Jack Carter, Richland District 2’s operations chief, estimated the value of Sonoco picking up the recycle refuse in the northeast Richland County school district at up to $200,000 a year.

The district started the recycling program more than 10 years ago, primarily as a way to manage costs but also because “it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“We’re going to do it with or without the other districts,” Carter said.

Richland School District 1 officials do not know yet how they will handle recycling in the coming year, but will be looking at its options, spokeswoman Karen York said. Richland 1 includes the downtown, St. Andrews and Lower Richland areas.

A spokesman for Richland/Lexington School District 5 in the Irmo-Chapin-Dutch Fork areas said it, too, is looking at various options, but also is committed to recycling. The district is confident the three Richland County school districts will come up with a workable solution.

While Sonoco picked up recyclable materials for free at Richland County schools, Lexington County schools paid a fee.

“We started paying Sonoco back in July of 2014,” said Kelly Richardson, Lexington School District 2 chief financial officer. Sonoco charged the district $50 per month per location, Richardson said.

Like some other school districts in the area, Lexington 2 recently sought bids for its recyclabe hauling, in conjunction with its garbage collection services, Richardson said. A new contract, perhaps with a new carrier and at a higher rate, will take effect on July 1.

Lexington 2 recycles cardboard, paper, plastic and metal, Richardson said, while the county handles the district’s glass recycling, she said.

Stephen Ard, owner of Ard’s Containers, said Sonoco’s initial exit from hauling recyclables put his company under a strain. But he is finally catching up.

“Lexington School Districts 2, 4, and 5 are paying a small amount and I can almost live with that,” Ard said. “At the end of June, we’re going to re-negotiate all contracts.”

Ard said he normally charges his customers $75 a month to pick up their recyclables, while he said Sonoco only charged customers $40 to $50. “That’s why they (Sonoco) couldn’t do it,” he said.