Australian Paper, the country’s largest paper mill, says a policy backflip by the federal government could cost hundreds of jobs and threaten the future of its $90 million recycling plant at Maryvale in the Latrobe Valley.
“We’re very surprised the government is walking away from its commitment to 100 per cent recycled paper content in government offices and we’re concerned about the future of our recycling operation,” Craig Dunn, senior marketing manager sustainability, Australian Paper, told Print21.
“We’re currently operating at less than one third of capacity and unless we can more than triple our usage of recycled fibre, the social and economic benefits of the plant, including 250 flow-on jobs in the local wastepaper value chain, and emissions savings from 80,000 tonnes of wastepaper annually diverted from landfill, will not be realised,” he said.
The government’s ICT Sustainability Plan introduced in 2010 made it mandatory for Australian government agencies to use copy paper with 100% post-consumer recycled content by July 2015. However, a move to abandon the plan, first floated by the Abbott government, has been confirmed in a government response to a parliamentary question.
“There was no consultation and we’re definitely really surprised because our reading was that the government had promised long-term support of local recycled paper in the face of increasing imports,” said Dunn.
The government’s earlier commitment to recycled paper was a key driver behind the company’s decision to make a major investment in local wastepaper recycling infrastructure at the plant, which opened earlier this year at Maryvale, east of Melbourne.
“The federal government supported Australian Paper's capital investment decision to build the $90 million Maryvale Recycling Plant with $9.5 million in co-funding and we were confident they would take into account the landfill and emission reduction benefits of local recycled paper over imports as part of value for money procurement,” Dunn said.
“However, 30 of the 50 largest government departments and agencies are currently choosing to buy imported copy paper rather than support more sustainable Australian made recycled paper. This includes the Department of the Environment, which chooses to use recycled paper made in Germany then shipped halfway around the world to Australia on container ships. The Department of Industry has also chosen to support recycled paper from Indonesia and Austria, and even the Department of Agriculture, which has responsibility for forestry policy, largely purchases recycled paper from Germany.
“The Department of Human Services has already made the decision to change a major envelope tender request from 100% recycled paper to 60% recycled paper following this decision. We believe that other departments are likely to walk away from using recycled paper altogether.”
Australian Paper supports around 6,000 total flow-on jobs, said Dunn. “Our wastepaper collections for the plant include Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Tasmania, and the employment benefits of our operations are widely spread. Our Maryvale Mill is also one of the largest private employers in the Latrobe Valley."
The company has called for the urgent reinstatement of the ICT Sustainability Plan.
UPDATE 15 October, 2015:
The Department of Human Services responded:
· The Department of Human Services requires 60 per cent recycled content for the main type of envelope design used for external distribution purposes, and has done so for many years.
· The department has never required 100 per cent recycled content.
Kind regards,
Media Management and Executive Communication BranchDepartment of Human Services