Hartsville and Sonoco change recycling agreement
From left to right, Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington and Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Andrews presented Darlington County School District superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram with a proclamation recognizing January 22 – 28 as “School Choice Week”.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Hartsville City Council convened their regular monthly meeting January 10 and approved a new recycling agreement with Sonoco Products Company requiring Hartsville to absorb some of the city’s recycling disposal cost.
Will Newsome of Sonoco appeared before council and explained that since March of 2011, when Sonoco began accepting Hartsville’s single stream (or co-mingled) recyclables without charging the city for their disposal, market prices for these commodities have decreased substantially. This has forced Sonoco to re-examine the current arrangement.
Newsome said that over the past five years, the Weighted Average Price Sonoco can get for recyclables has decreased from around $140 per ton to $80 per ton. He added that the process of picking up the city’s recycling, transporting it to Sonoco’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Columbia, and mechanically or manually sorting viable commodities from rejected materials is “pretty expensive.”
Newsome said that accepting the city’s recyclables gratis is a unique arrangement because Hartsville is home to Sonoco’s corporate headquarters.
“We wouldn’t be accepting co-mingled recyclables in Hartsville if we were in any other city but Hartsville,” said Newsome.
Mayor Mel Pennington pointed out that glass is a major reason the tonnage price average has dropped, since it contributes greatly to overall weight and yields less revenue than any other recycling commodity.
“Glass is one of those things that is absolutely killing you all, killing us, because it causes more work and you can’t do anything with it,” said Pennington. “When you put glass in a recycling bin, the thought is you should be helping but really you’re causing more cost.”
Newsome agreed, adding that Sonoco now must pay a vendor to take glass collected at the MRF. He said those vendors sell about 80 percent of that reclaimed glass to the bottling industry, with the remaining 20 percent used for sandblasting.
Since glass recycling is literally more trouble than it’s worth, Hartsville plans to phase out glass from its curbside collection program.
“Sonoco will not tell us to take glass out of our co-mingled recycling,” said city manager Natalie Zeigler, adding that within three months, Hartsville will shift from weekly to semi-weekly recycling collection, and they will request that recyclers keep glass out of the collection bins.
“It will lower our tonnage and lower the price we’re going to have to pay Sonoco,” said Zeigler.
Newsome said the new arrangement will cap the city’s cost at $20 per ton for disposing of recyclables. Hartsville currently produces an average of 40 tons in recyclables from curbside collection each month.
Materials eligible for recycling include glass, tin/steel/aluminum food and beverage containers, plastics #1 – 7 (milk jugs, detergent bottles, etc.), newspapers and magazines, corrugated boxes (flattened or cut down), brown paper bags, computer and copier paper, phone books, and boxboard (shoe boxes, cereal boxes, etc., without wax or plastic coating). Items contaminated by food may be rejected.
This agreement (Resolution 01-17-01) between Sonoco and the City of Hartsville will take effect May 1, 2017, with an effective term of five years. Council voted unanimously to approve this resolution.
In other matters, council passed final reading of Ordinance 4274, officially annexing into city limits three city-owned properties totaling 10.44 acres along Wright and Leesburg Streets for use in constructing a planned new Public Works complex.
Resolution 01-17-02 received unanimous approval, allowing the Hartsville Police Department to apply for a 2017 Justice Assistance Grant. Any grant funding received will primarily go to the Narcotics Division for planned purchases that include a K-9 unit, new bulletproof vests, and undercover vehicles. The grant request of $72,000 would require a 10-percent match from the city.
Council held first reading for Ordinance 4280, authorizing the purchase of .75 acres of property at 326 Coker Avenue from Meadows Properties, Inc. for $280,000. The city wishes to purchase this property to allow for future development of the Fourth Street corridor. Council member Teresa Mack cast the lone “no” vote.
Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington and Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Andrews presented Darlington County School District superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram with a proclamation recognizing January 22 – 28 as “School Choice Week.”
Under DCSD’s Expanded Choice program (available January 9 – 27) parents may request their student be allowed to attend any school in the district (except Mayo High School for Math, Science, and Technology), regardless of where they are zoned. For more information, contact DCSD’s Office of Arts and Innovative Programs at 843-398-2241
