Visy has made a $700 million investment into Queensland’s recycling and remanufacturing as part of executive chairman Anthony Pratt’s $2 billion investment pledge to Australia’s recycling and clean energy infrastructure over the ensuing decade.
The investment will see a massive expansion of Visy’s Queensland recycling and remanufacturing operations and will create over 900 jobs in construction, and support 300 green collar, remanufacturing jobs once operational.
Under the plan, the company will invest $500 million to build a new glass food and beverage container recycling and manufacturing facility in Yatala; a new $150 million corrugated box factory at Hemmant; and invest $48 million in major upgrades to the company’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) on Gibson Island.
“This is the largest investment Visy has ever made in Queensland and is part of my pledge to invest $2 billion in Australia over the decade,” Pratt said.
“I commend Premier Palaszczuk and her Government for its leadership in support of Australian manufacturing. This $700 million investment confirms the Government’s economic plan to grow the State’s economy and create advanced manufacturing jobs is working. Under Premier Palaszczuk’s leadership, Queensland has become a global powerhouse for manufacturing.”
Visy will relocate its current glass re-manufacturing operations from South Brisbane to Yatala, expected in 2025, paving the way for the site along the Brisbane River to be used as the International Broadcasting Centre for the 2032 Olympic Games.
Pratt said the state-of-the-art factory will help towards increasing the recycled content in Visy’s glass packaging to 70 per cent, reduce landfill, and reduce the use of natural resources by using the most modern energy efficient manufacturing technology available.
The facility, which will produce about one billion glass containers a year, will support Queensland’s world class, iconic beverage manufacturers. The company’s new $150 million corrugated box factory at Hemmant will service Queensland’s thriving agricultural sector, supporting farmers and growers across Queensland.
Visy’s upgrade to its MRF at Gibson Island will see up to an additional 30,000kt of material diverted from landfill. Visy currently recycles over 250,000 tonnes of material from kerbside collections a year and is proud to service the majority of South East Queensland’s recycling needs.
Pratt also said it was important to recycle because as things decay in the landfill they emit methane gas, which is up to 84 times more harmful than CO2.
“Recycling is an important weapon against climate change and the Queensland Government is to be congratulated for its support for practical environmental measures, like recycling, that all Queenslanders can participate in,” he said.
