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Recycled Paper Mill - Reservoir

Visy’s paper mill located in Reservoir is one of eight paper machines that Visy operates in Australia, manufacturing a combined total of over 1.5 million tonnes of paper every year. Around 815,000 tonnes of this production, including the paper produced at Reservoir, is recycled paper for domestic and export markets.

Our Reservoir mill receives mixed paper and cardboard from Visy’s Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), and other MRFs across the state. The recovered recyclable materials includes the sorted material collected from community kerbside recycling bins and pre-sorted material supplied from commercial and industrial customers.

The recovered paper and cardboard received at our Reservoir site is re-manufactured into 100% recycled paper products. The 100% recycled paper is then used at our Visy Board facilities.

 

Odours in the recycled paper making process

Recycled paper making is a water intensive process and, in line with Visy’s commitment to sustainability, we recycle as much water as possible. The temperature and chemical conditions in the recycled water system provides an environment which produce sulphides and volatile fatty acids (VFAs), such as acetic acid (vinegar), as a by-product of the paper recycling process, in the circulating water.

Under certain conditions, when the water vapour is then released by the recycled paper manufacturing process, small amounts of these substances are released into the air. While not hazardous, these substances have low odour detection thresholds and can result in an odour depending on weather conditions.

Odour management plan

While Visy has already undertaken substantial on-site work to reduce odour, there is still problem-solving work to do. There is no single simple solution. It will take time to get the combination of odour management strategies right.

The process includes in-field odour monitoring to gather more specific performance data as we implement the stages of our Odour Management Plan (OMP), along with a stronger engagement and communication process with the community.

Find out more about the five stages of the OMP in our Visy’s Recycled Paper Mill – Reservoir Odour Management Plan Fact Sheet.

Read our Community Update - March 2022

Read our Community Update - June 2022

Read our Community Update - October 2022

Read our Community Update - December 2022

Read our Community Update - February 2023

Read our Community Update - June 2023

Read our Community Update - November 2023

Register to attend our Visy Paper community meeting

As part of the ongoing community engagement, we are hold regular community meeting sessions. If you are interested in attending, please complete the details in the form below. Once you are registered, we will send you further information on when and where these meetings will be held. If you have any specific questions that you want to be answered, please provide in the space below.

Would you like to attend the next community information session?*

If you have attended a community meeting and would like access to a presentation pack, please submit a form here.

Community site visit

If you would like to come to site to learn more about our operations, please submit a site tour form here and we will arrange a visit.

Community feedback

We will continue to engage with the community and the EPA on the progress of these measures over the short, medium and long term as we implement solutions from our OMP.

Please use the below form to submit any feedback to us.

Would you like to receive direct feedback on the above event?
If yes, how would you like to receive feedback?