Visy has unveiled a major AUD 50 million upgrade to its glass recycling factory in Laverton, Melbourne, Australia.
At capacity, the modernised plant – which was officially opened by Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Environment of the state of Victoria, and Visy Chairman Anthony Pratt – 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 percent recycled content,” said Pratt.
“But we’re not simply manufacturers. We’re actually in the landfill avoidance because recycling and remanufacturing are important weapons against climate change.”
The project will double Visy’s glass recycling capability in Victoria, recycling 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 upgrade is part of Pratt’s 2021 commitment to invest AUD 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.
A Visy glass container with 70 percent recycled content uses up to 30 percent less energy to make than a container with no recycled content.
The Laverton factory will use 20 new state-of-the-art 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.