Veolia

Visy says battery fires have left Australian recycling plants largely uninsurable

Visy chief executive Mark De Wit said most Australian recycling facilities can no longer obtain insurance because of battery fires, and that Visy, Re.Group and Cleanaway have each lost a recycling site to fire in the past five years. Fire and Rescue NSW recorded 86 fires at waste and recycling centres between 1 January and 14 September 2026, against 114 in the whole of 2025. De Wit said the fires are now an almost daily event and are always caused by a battery.

Why this mattersUninsurable sorting assets raise the cost of recovering fibre and containers in Australia and put recycled feedstock supply for packaging makers at risk.

• Visy CEO Mark De Wit said most recycling facilities can no longer obtain insurance because of fire risk
• De Wit said Visy, Re.Group and Cleanaway have each lost a recycling site to fire in the past five years
• Fire and Rescue NSW recorded 86 fires at waste and recycling centres from 1 January to 14 September 2026, versus 114 for all of 2025
• NSW recorded 44 garbage truck fires so far in 2026 versus 62 for all of 2025
• ReTHiNK Waste Tasmania estimates 10,000-12,000 battery-related fires occur annually in Australia's waste and recycling system
• Veolia's Cairns waste-sorting centre was destroyed by a suspected lithium-ion battery fire in January 2025, diverting material to landfill

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