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Australian Anthony Pratt has made a $1billion commitment
towards Investment in Paper Recycling and Waste-to-Energy
Infrastructure; at President Clinton's Clinton Global
Initiative (CGI) meeting in New York today Wednesday 26
September 2007.
The money will
enable the construction and operation in the USA of at least
3 new paper recycling mills, 4 waste-to-energy plants, and
30 MRFs (materials recovery facilities), as well as ancillary
packaging plants to fully integrate the paper mills.
Most
importantly it will save hundreds of thousands of tons of
carbon dioxide from going into the air during the first half
of the 10 year commitment period and more than 1 million
tons per annum by the end of the decade.
Pratt's
company, Pratt Industries USA, is the largest Australian
owned employer in the USA with over 3200 American employees.
With this
$1billion commitment, those numbers will go even higher.
Anthony Pratt
says "Recycling is an important weapon against climate
change.
We envision
the US moving towards a zero waste society and seek to
increase US recycling rates dramatically by investing this
$1billion to expand our recycling operations, and by helping
to create a 'recycling movement'".
"I
believe we'll increase the understanding amongst opinion
formers, policy decision makers, and the public of the
importance of recycling on a much larger scale than is being
undertaken at the moment," he says.
"Almost
one quarter of all carbon emissions are from landfills and
deforestation so every ton of paper we divert from landfill
stops 1.2 tons of carbon emission, hence our view that
recycling is one of the most important weapons against
climate change."
The billion
dollars starts getting invested with the construction of
Pratt Industries next and third recycled paper mill later
this year in Shreveport, Louisiana.
This will be
operational by December 2008 at an establishment cost of
$150 million.
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At full
capacity, this mill will recycle more than 300,000 tons of
paper per annum and will facilitate the avoidance of more
than 300,000 tons of Carbon dioxide equivalent.
Currently
Pratt Industries produces 720,000 tons of 100% recycled
paper annually in the USA.
The
construction of Pratt's first US waste-to-energy plant which
will convert wood waste (otherwise destined for landfill)
into energy to power their existing recycled paper mill in
Conyers, Georgia, will commence later this year.
It will be
operational by March 2009 at an establishment cost of
$50million.
This plant
will save over 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide per annum.
The
construction of their next MRF will commence later this year
in Dallas, Texas and will be operational by February 2008 at
a cost of $3million.
Pratt
Industries USA is a sister company to Visy, Australia's
largest packaging and recycling company.
Corporate
reputation surveys have named Visy as Australia's leading
company for environmental performance five times since 2000. |
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