Visy has unveiled a major A$48m upgrade to its recycling and remanufacturing campus on Gibson Island, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deputy Premier Steven Miles attending a ribbon cutting.
Left to right: Mark De Wit, Anthony Pratt, Fiona Pratt, Heloise Pratt, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Steven Miles, Queensland Deputy Premier and Di Farmer, Member for Bulimba.
The upgrade is part of Visy Executive Chairman Anthony Pratt’s commitment to invest A$2bn over the next decade – A$700m of that in Queensland – to reduce landfill, cut emissions and create thousands of green collar Australian manufacturing jobs.
“This is a proud day for our company because we’re not only manufacturers, we’re actually in the landfill avoidance business which is good for greenhouse gas reduction as well because as things decay in the landfill they produce methane gas which is 84 times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide,” said Pratt. “So recycling is an important weapon against climate change.”
The project will divert up to 39,000 tonnes of material from landfill using a new state-of-the-art paper optical sorting plant. Instead of going to landfill, Visy will recycle and remanufacture this kerbside waste from hundreds of thousands of Queensland homes into 100% recycled paper and corrugated boxes for the state’s farmers, and iconic food and beverage companies.
Pratt praised Premier Palaszczuk and her Government for their foresight and dedication to practical environmental reforms. “You, Premier and Deputy Premier Miles, are champions of Queensland manufacturing and under your leadership, Queensland has become an economic powerhouse,” he said. “You lead an outstanding Government creating a great business environment.”
The upgrade was made possible thanks to co-investment support from the Queensland Government and is set to reduce landfill by up to 20kg per Queensland household annually. The 100% recycled paper will then be sent to Visy’s corrugated box plants, including the new one at Hemmant.
“We are transforming Australia’s recycling and manufacturing sectors through these initiatives,” said Pratt.
The Gibson Island project created hundred of jobs during construction and has established even more green-collar manufacturing jobs on site.
