At the Australasian Packaging Conference earlier this month, Kate Baker, general manager, circular economy & sustainability at Visy, presented the company’s recent work to improve the sustainability of its glass packaging, with a focus on increasing recycled content, upgrading processing technology and reducing emissions.
Baker outlined Visy’s efforts to increase the average recycled content across its glass containers to 70 per cent, stating, “A Visy glass bottle with 70 per cent recycled content generates 30 per cent less emissions than one made from virgin materials.”
She noted that last year, Visy achieved an average of 64 per cent recycled content across all its plants, with some coloured glass bottles consistently reaching over 90 per cent recycled content in Sydney and Brisbane. Earlier this year, she noted, Visy's New Zealand facility celebrated hitting the 70% recycled content mark in 2024.
This improvement across all sites was supported by a multi-million dollar investment in recycling technology, including the installation of 20 optical sorters at its Laverton facility, capable of sorting glass down to three millimetres. “This allows us to obtain a clean stream of glass with fewer contaminants, enabling us to put more recycled content back into every bottle,” Baker said.
Baker went on to note that Visy opened Australia’s first oxy-fuel glass furnace in Sydney last year. “It uses half the energy of a conventional furnace and produces over 800 million glass containers annually,” she said. These furnaces are expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 20-25 per cent.
Visy is also building two new oxy-fuel furnaces in Queensland, each projected to produce a billion bottles a year combined.
The company has also introduced pre-heat systems, which use waste heat to pre-heat recycled glass to 400°C before it enters the furnace, further boosting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In terms of packaging design, Baker said Visy works closely with its customers to optimise glass containers for recyclability and material efficiency. “We offer lighter weight options and continue to reduce the weight of our containers. For example, our latest wine bottle ranges are down to 330 grams,” she said.
Despite progress, challenges remain in meeting recycled content targets for clear glass due to supply issues and technical limitations. “As you increase recycled content, slight colour variations can occur, which are easier to manage in green and amber glass but more difficult in clear bottles,” Baker explained.
She concluded by reinforcing Visy’s commitment to local sourcing and collaboration across the supply chain, stating, “Every step we take sourcing smarter, designing better, collaborating more closely, brings us closer to a more sustainable future for glass packaging.”
Kate Baker is a finalist in the 2025 PKN Women in Packaging Sustainability Leader category.
