Visy

WARR facilities fast-tracked under NSW acceleration program

The West Nowra Landfill expansion and Visy’s Dry Recyclables Facility have been named in the first tranche of NSW Planning System Acceleration Program projects.

Earlier this month, the NSW Government announced it would fast-track planning processes for State Significant Developments – including waste management facilities – to keep the development sector moving through the COVID-19 crisis.

The first set of fast tracked projects were announced this week, with the $191 million West Nowra Landfill expansion set to see the construction of six additional landfill cells. Furthermore, Visy’s new $23.8 million facility will have the capacity to process up to 155,000 tonnes of dry kerbside recyclables a year.

Additional fast-tracked projects include the construction of a resource recovery facility facility in Penrith, waste management upgrades to Horsley Park’s Brickworks plant and Snowy 2.0 main works.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes also released the NSW Government’s Priority Projects Criteria – a set of guidelines that will determine which development projects are fast-tracked through the program.

To be considered for a fast-tracked assessment, the development application or rezoning must already be in the system, deliver a public benefit, demonstrate an ability to create jobs during construction and once complete, be able to commence construction within six months.

A total of 24 projects have been identified in the first round of fast-tracked assessments, which according to Mr Stokes, will inject $7.54 billion into the state’s economy.

“It’s important to note that this is not a greenlighting exercise, the same stringent checks, balances and community consultation that ensures transparency, public benefit and merit-based assessment of projects remain,” he said.

Despite general support for the program, Local Government NSW (LGNSW) has warned that failure to include environmentally sustainable waste and recycling measures in the criteria is a missed opportunity, particularly in light of the “rapidly approaching” national export ban.

LGNSW President Linda Scott said it was encouraging to see waste management and recycling facilities accounting for four of the 24 fast-tracked projects. However, she said the logical next step would have been to embed recycling principles in the actual fast-tracking criteria.

“Minister Stokes’ announcement is a missed opportunity to begin to create a state in which home-grown recycling and sustainable, smart waste management is built into everything we do,” Ms Scott said.

“It would have sent a very clear planning message: we’re going to do things better from now on, and we need to be working together to ensure some lasting and sustainable good comes out of these difficult times.”

Despite this, Ms Scott said local government supports the principled focus on the creation of jobs to address the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the short-to-medium-term.

“Councils certainly welcome a commitment of state government resources to help free up blockages in the planning approval pipeline,” she said.

“LGNSW has long argued that the NSW Government has a key role to play in addressing the ‘hidden’ approval delays which occur when other state agencies are required to sign off on a project.”

Ms Scott added that it is important to ensure that short-term responses and system reforms do not undermine transparency and good planning principles, or encourage poor quality development that would cost the communities dearly in future years.

“We are calling on the government to guarantee a stronger role for council-led Local Strategic Planning Statements, and guarantee they will play a key role in assessing overall strategic merit,” she said.

“There will need to be further consultation with councils to ensure this fast-track program really does deliver for the people of NSW and the public good, rather than simply pouring money into the pockets of developers.”

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QLD levy comes into effect

The Queensland Government’s waste levy has come into effect, bringing Queensland in line with the majority of Australian states and territories.

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said prior to the levy’s reintroduction Queensland was the only mainland state without a waste levy.

The levy will apply to most commercial and industrial waste going to landfill – starting at $75 per tonne.

The levy zone includes 39 out of 77 local government areas, which covers an estimated 90 per cent of Queensland’s population.

Ms Enoch said the government had employed extra compliance officers to ensure businesses were following new waste management legislation.

“The Department of Environment and Science will have 16 extra staff on the ground with more to come, which will help to prevent illegal dumping across the state,” Ms Enoch said.

Waste Management & Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) CEO Gayle Sloan said WMRR appreciated the state governments collaboration with industry throughout the levy development and implementation process.

“Queensland may have to play catch up on a number of waste management and resource recovery fronts, but the process the state government has undertaken in the lead‐up to the levy reintroduction is certainly one that other jurisdictions can and should learn from,” Ms Sloan said.

“The government did not rush into this, but instead heeded the advice of stakeholders and provided time for industry and councils to make the necessary adjustments and prepare for the levy.”

According to Ms Sloan, the state government have committed to reinvest 70 per cent of levy funds into the waste industry to drive investment in the domestic remanufacturing sector.

“WMRR recognises change is not easy, we know business as usual is not an option and we believe that the Queensland Government is to be congratulated for this move,” Ms Sloan said.

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Scania and Visy work towards sustainability

Scania has delivered 10 new P 450 6×4 prime movers to Visy Logistics’ Truganina site as part of its Ecolution sustainability initiative to reduce emissions.

Scania Australia Vehicle Connected Driver Services Manager Richard Bain said the new vehicles will deliver significant savings in fuel, reduced exhaust emissions and a boost to Visy’s road safety record.

“The trucks will deliver Visy’s recycled cardboard products, manufactured at its state-of-the-art factory in Truganina, to customers across metropolitan Melbourne.”

Mr Bain said the 13-litre engine prime movers are among the most efficient available and are fitted with the standard Scania NTG safety package, comprising lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and electronic stability control.

“The Scania Ecolution trial will give Visy full visibility of how the truck fleet is being driven, how much fuel is being used and how emissions are being reduced, as well as directing its maintenance requirements,” Mr. Bain said.

“The Ecolution programme begins with a tailor-made specification of the prime mover, designed exactly to meet the needs of the task.”

According to Mr Bain, by using Scania’s onboard communicator and global connectivity system, Visy fleet management will be able to monitor how the vehicles are being driven, highlight deviations and allow Scania’s trainers to keep drivers performing at peak efficiency levels.

“Scania Ecolution is a powerful solution producing substantial fuel and CO2 reductions for our customer – helping to drive our ambition of providing the market’s most sustainable and profitable transport solutions,” Mr Bain said.

“By offering Visy Logistics this suite of features through the Ecolution trial, we are delivering on our strategy to be a leader in the shift towards a sustainable transport system.”

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Visy’s Anthony Pratt named Australia’s wealthiest individual

The Australian has revealed Visy executive chairman and owner of Pratt Industries, Anthony Pratt is Australia’s wealthiest individual, with a fortune of $13.14 billion.

He is one of 250 people named in The List: Australia’s Richest 250, which will be published in The Weekend Australian tomorrow as a special magazine.

The list was curated and edited by wealth expert John Stensholt and a global team of researchers and journalists.

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The study reveals the entire fortune of Australia’s wealthiest 250 is $318.33 billion, with each member having an average of $1.27 billion. Included in the list are 96 billionaires, 15 people aged 40 and under and 27 females. The average age of members is 65, with 95-year-olds Len Ainsowrth (Associated World Investments, Sydney) and Marc Beseen (TarraWarra, Melbourne) the eldest named and 26-year-old Tobi Pearce (Sweat) the list’s youngest member.

Joining Pratt in the Top 10 is Hancock Prospecting chairman Gina Rinehart (65, Perth) who came in at number 2, with an accumulated wealth of $13.12 billion – a mere $20 million separating her from Pratt.

Meriton managing director Harry Triguboff (86, Sydney) is at number 3, with a fortune of $12.31 billion. More broadly, property dominates the majority of wealth, with 68 members making their fortune from the industry. Many members have also made their fortunes in industries such as transport and mining, before diversifying into residential and commercial property investments.

The list has been compiled using publicly available information. Public shareholdings are calculated on share prices up to 15 February 2019 and property values and purchase prices have been derived from several public sources. Price companies are valued using profit margins and various earnings ratios of comparable stock market listed competitors.

The List: Australia’s Richest 250
The Top 10

1.     Anthony Pratt and family ($13.14 billion)
2.     Gina Rinehart ($13.12 billion)
3.     Harry Triguboff ($12.31 billion)
4.     Mike Cannon-Brookes ($9.01 billion)
5.     Scott Farquhar ($9.01 billion)
6.     Frank Lowy ($8.92 billion)
7.     Hui Wing Mau ($8.63 billion)
8.     Andrew Forrest ($7.34 billion)
9.     Ivan Glasenberg ($6.76 billion)
10.  John Gandel ($6.22 billion)

New Visy plant in Melbourne’s west being built

Visy is opening a new corrugated cardboard plant in Melbourne’s west with backing from the Victorian Government – creating 85 new jobs and boosting production.

Victorian Government Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll in mid October toured the $99 million facility in Truganina to meet workers and inspect progress of the build.

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Corrugated cardboard produced at the plant will be manufactured from 100 per cent recycled paper and cardboard for the local food and beverage market supporting primary producers, manufacturers and retailers.

“Manufacturing in Victoria continues to go from strength-to-strength thanks to the backing of the Andrews Labor Government,” Mr Carrol said.

“We’re backing Visy’s massive expansion because it’ll boost our economy, create 85 new jobs and give work to former auto-workers.”

Monash Uni launches research hub to transform biowaste

A new research hub is focused on transforming organic waste into marketable chemicals that can be used for a variety of uses, from medicinal gels to food packaging.

Monash University has launched the Australian Research Council (ARC) Hub for Processing Advance Lignocelluosics into Advanced Materials.

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A total of $6.8 million over five years will be invested into converting biomass and plant-based matter into materials such as cellulose-based hydrogels for personal medicine, nanocellulose films to replace food packaging and nanogels to help farmers maintain their crops.

An industry consortium composed of Visy, Amcor, Circa, Leaf, Orora, and Norske Skog will join Monash, the University of Tasmania, the University of South Australia, the Tasmanian Government and AgroParis Tech as part of the ARC hub.

The research could significantly impact pulp and paper companies, turning them into potential bio-refineries.

Three objectives have been specified to achieve this industry transformation, which involve deriving green chemicals from Australian wood and lignocellulosic streams, engineering new nanocellulose applications and developing ultralight paper and novel packaging. Potential packaging could have significantly improved physical properties, such as including radio-frequency identification technology to integrate with transport or retail systems.

Bioresource Processing Research Institute of Australia Director Gil Garnier said the research will help the Australian pulp, paper and forestry industry transform their production waste into high-grade goods.

“This hub will leverage world-leading Australian and international research capabilities in chemistry, materials science and engineering with the express aim of creating new materials, companies and jobs for our growing bioeconomy,” Prof Garnier said.

“With ongoing support and vision from our government, industry and university partners, we will identify new applications and products derived from biowaste to transform the pharmaceutical, chemicals, plastics and food packaging industries in Australia and across the world.

“In fact, one of the goals is for our industry partners to generate, within four to 10 years, 25-50 per cent of their profits from products that don’t exist today,” he said.

Scrunching the issue of soft plastics

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has compiled a comprehensive gap analysis on the market barriers to recovering soft plastics. Waste Management Review sat down with APCO’s Brooke Donnelly to discuss how it fits into the broader plastics issue.

Read moreScrunching the issue of soft plastics

New national targets set within 2025 packaging plan

New targets within the 2025 plan have been outlined alongside the launch of the Australasian Recycling Label.

The new targets aim to aim to increase the average recycled content within all packaging by 30 per cent and phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through design, innovation or the introduction of alternatives.

Additionally, the targets aim to ensure 70 per cent of plastic packaging is recycled or composted.

These build on the previous announcement of a target to achieve 100 per cent of Australian packaging being recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025.

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The targets build on commitments made by federal, state and territory environment ministers and the President for the Australian Local Government Association earlier in April this year.

Industry representatives and environmental groups support the targets including Aldi, ALGA, Amcor, Australia Post, Boomerang Alliance, Chep, Close the Loop, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coles, Detmold, Goodman Fielder, Lion, Metcash, Nestlé, Orora, Pact Group, Planet Ark, Redcycle, Simplot, Suez, Tetra Pak, Unilever, Veolia, Visy and Woolworths.

Woolworths General Manager, Quality and Sustainability Alex Holt highlighted the importance of this collaboration.

“We’re really pleased to see such a wide range of industry players come together in support of such a worthy goal. Moving towards a circular economy won’t be easy, but we have the right mix of organisations on board to help make it a reality,” Mr Holt said.

Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price congratulated the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and the initial working group of businesses that are supporting the targets.

Minister Price has also officially launched the Australasian recycling Label to help achieve the 2025 National Packaging Targets, developed by Planet Ark, PREP Design and APCO to help consumers better understand how to recycle packaging.

“The Australasian Recycling Label provides people with easy to understand recycling information when they need it most, in those few seconds when they are deciding what bin the package goes in. The label removes confusion and reduces waste,” Ms Price said.

With more than 200 recycling labels currently being used in Australia, the new system aims to reduce confusion and contamination in the waste stream.

Nestlé Head of Corporate and External Relations Oceania Margaret Stuart said the inclusion of the label on Netslé’s packaging was a demonstration of the company’s commitment to sustainability.

“More and more people who buy our products want to know how to manage packing waste, so we have committed to implementing the Australasian Recycling Label across all our locally controlled products by 2020,” Ms Stuart said.

Unilever ANZ CEO Clive Stiff has said the announcements are a critical step towards greater collective action on increasing the nationals recycling capability.

“Plastic packaging waste represents an $80 billion loss to the global economy every year. The benefits of the circular economy approach are clear for business and the environment – the more effective use of materials means lower costs and less waste,” Mr Stiff said.

“We are proud to have recently announced that bottles of popular Unilever products like OMO, Dove, Sunsilk, Surf and TRESemmé will soon be made with at least 25% Australian recycled plastic.

“This is just the start for us and no business can create a circular economy in isolation. Heavy lifting is needed from all players involved – suppliers, packaging converters, brand owners, policy makers and retailers, collectors, sorters and recyclers. We need a complete shift in how we think about and use resources.”

ACOR call for $150M into regional recycling

The Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) is urging the federal government to grow regional Australia’s recycling industry with a one-off investment of $150 million.

The investment would go towards better sorting, increased reprocessing, community education and government procurement of recycled content product.

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ACOR Chief Executive Officer Peter Shmigel said recycling has a good base in regional Australia, which can be grown for more jobs and economic value in country areas.

“It’s one of the readily accessible ways to diversify regional economies and make them more resilient against droughts and global market forces,” he said.

“Our industry already has a good place in the bush including lube oil recycling, battery recycling, tyre recycling, industrial plastics recycling and consumer packaging recycling in country areas.”

Mr Shmigel said an independent report from MRA Consulting showed investment in local recycling could lead to the creation of 500 jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We can use waste plastics and glass that can’t go back into bottles as part of asphalt in government-funded road projects,” Mr Shmigel said.

“Roads are the biggest asset in country areas and they can be recycled content rather than virgin materials at competitive cost and quality – if governments positively procure for that,” he said.

Mr Shmigel said using recycled content materials in the Snowy 2.0 scheme alone would massively contribute to more jobs and deliver on the community’s recycling expectations.

ACOR members with operations in regional areas include Southern Oil Refinery, Kurrajong Recycling, Re-Group, Visy, Envirostream, Tomra, SIMS Metal Management, ResourceCo, O-I and Downer Group.

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