Dive Brief:
- The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has fined Hartsville, SC-based packaging company Sonoco $230,000 for operating an unpermitted landfill, which violates the state's Solid Waste Policy and Management Act.
- Since 1965, Sonoco has operated an ash staging area in Hartsville for recycling and reuse, but continued to place ash in a 14-acre staging area after the recycling markets diminished. DHEC determined in 2010 that since the company was no longer recycling ash, the area was considered an unpermitted landfill.
- DHEC spokesman Jim Beasley said Sonoco entered into a Consent Agreement with DHEC in July 2013, which required the company to perform an environment assessment. "Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed from monitoring wells. Results show that all samples were below the maximum containment levels allowed by the federal and state primary drinking water standards," Beasley told WPDE.
Dive Insight:
Though the matter at hand is not ideal, it is being handled in the best way possible. Sonoco has complied with DHEC, and there have been no adverse environmental effects.
In a statement, Sonoco noted it "has long been a leader in recycling, and the ash staging area began as a recycling effort. The ash from the boilers that power our Hartsville manufacturing operations was staged onsite for productive reuse, and we sold ash to brick makers, cement kilns and other end users. Although we continued our efforts to look for end users of the ash, the recycling market eventually dried up. Once we realized our staging practices might be an issue, we proactively contacted DHEC in 2010 to seek their guidance, and we have been working closely with them to find a remedy."
