Visy’s AUS$150M oxygen-fueled glass furnace slashes Australian packaging emissions 

22 Jul 2024 --- Visy has launched what it says is the most energy-efficient glass furnace in Australia at its recycling and remanufacturing facility in Sydney. The furnace, financed with a AUS$150 million (US$100 million) investment, is the country’s first oxygen-only fueled furnace, using less than half the energy of the one it replaced.

The facility, located in the Sydney suburb Penrith, was officially opened last week by New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns and our Chairman Anthony Pratt.

According to Pratt, the rise in efficiency provides enough additional energy to heat over 32,000 Sydney homes every year. The Penrith site is the only glass bottle and jar manufacturing factory in NSW. 

The facility produces over 800 million glass containers every year in support of Australia’s F&B companies, such as Vegemite, Cottee’s Jam, Toohey’s New and Bundaberg Ginger Beer.

The facility will also use advanced recycled cullet preheating technology to increase the use of recycled glass in Australia’s glass bottle manufacturing sector. 

“This new technology is part of our program to make glass containers with an average of 70% recycled content across Australia and New Zealand,” Pratt says.

The factory makes the new bottles and jars from recycled glass from household recycle bins and the ‘Return and Earn’ container deposit scheme.

“At Visy, we’re not just manufacturers — we’re in the landfill avoidance business because recycling is an important weapon against climate change,” says Pratt.

“We’re investing in low energy technology, as well as high paying, green collar jobs, and boosting Australia’s manufacturing capability.”

The investment is part of Pratt’s 2021 commitment to invest US$2 billion over the ensuing decade to reduce landfills and help fight climate change while creating and sustaining thousands of green-collar Australian manufacturing jobs.

NSW Premier Chris Minns welcomed the investment in Western Sydney manufacturing. “We welcome Visy’s vote of confidence in Western Sydney and NSW. The bottles and jars made here will end up in the hands of millions of Aussies each year” says Minns.