Visy’s major $50 million upgrade to its glass recycling factory in Laverton, Melbourne, was officially opened today, by Victorian Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos, and Visy chairman Anthony Pratt.
The company says that at capacity, the modernised plant can recycle all of Victoria’s recyclable glass.
“This is an important upgrade for Victoria, and Visy, on our way to manufacturing new glass bottles and jars made with an average of 70 per cent recycled content,” said Pratt.
“But we’re not simply manufacturers. We’re actually in landfill avoidance, because recycling and remanufacturing are important weapons against climate change.”
The project aims to double Visy’s glass recycling capability in Victoria, and will enable it to recycle up to 200,000 tonnes of glass annually – the equivalent to 150 bottles and jars for every Victorian, every year.
The investment will also support local industry and local jobs, the company says.
The upgrade is part of Pratt’s 2021 plan to invest $2 billion over the ensuing decade, to reduce landfill, cut emissions and create thousands of green collar Australian manufacturing jobs.
“Using recycled content in glass manufacturing lowers greenhouse gas emissions,” said Pratt.
Visy says that a glass container with 70 per cent recycled content uses up to 30 per cent less energy to make than a container with no recycled content.
The Laverton factory will use 20 new optical cameras to sort glass down to three millimetres in size, keeping more glass in the circular economy. The old facility could process glass 10 millimetres in size or larger.
Visy will remanufacture the glass into new glass jars, bottles and containers at its factory in Spotswood – the only glass container furnace in Victoria.
