The plant will generate 50000 tonnes of premium recycled pulp each year, diverting up to 80000 tonnes of wastepaper from Australian landfil; equivalent to more than 16bn sheets of A4 office paper each year).
Jim Henneberry, CEO, Australian Paper says, “Australian Paper is delighted to confirm this important investment in sustainable manufacturing following an extensive feasibility study. The Maryvale recycling plant will secure Australian Paper’s position as the market leader in premium recycled paper and is a positive initiative for our local environment, jobs and the community.”
The plant will triple Australian Paper’s usage of recycled fibre and will enable the development of an innovative range of new Australian made recycled office, printing and stationary papers.
The $90bn recycling plant will being construction shortly, with production to commence from early 2014. Henneberry says, “We are proud of this investment in sustainable Victorian manufacturing and would like to acknowledge the strong support we have received from a broad range of stakeholders including our customers, unions, the Latrobe City Council, environmental groups, and a range of business and community stakeholders. In particular, we thank the State and Commonwealth Governments and Low Carbon Australia for their support and for sharing our vision to make this investment possible.”
The Western Research Institute prepared an Economic Impact Report which calculates that Australian Paper’s total operations supported around 6000 FTE jobs and contributed over $750m to the Australian economy in 2011. Including flow-on impacts, the recycling plant will support more than 950 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs during construction and around 250 FTE jobs on-going.
Constructions and ongoing operations of the plant will also drive around $160m in combined value to the economy. The plant will be closely integrated with the existing Maryvale Mill to opitimise energy and transport efficiencies.
Henneberry believes plant will allow Australian Paper to offer Australian customers a much broader range of premium recycled papers with the highest environmental credentials in the Australasian region.
Henneberry concludes, “This will further differentiate our products from the imported paper out of Indonesia, China and Thailand that do not share the same local environment, social and economic benefits as our Australian manufactured papers. “
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter