Australian Paper has announced that its parent company Nippon Paper has approved the construction of a $90 million paper recycling plant at its Maryvale Mill in Victoria, Australia. The plant will consume around 80,000 metric tons of recovered fiber per year to produce 50,000 metric tons of deinked pulp per year.

“Australian Paper is delighted to confirm this important investment in sustainable manufacturing following an extensive feasibility study. The Maryvale recycling plant will secure Australian Paper’s position as the market leader in premium recycled paper and is a positive initiative for our local environment, jobs and the community,” says Jim Henneberry, CEO of Australian Paper.

According to a release, the new plant will triple Australian Paper’s use of recycled fiber and will enable the development of a range of new Australian-made recycled office, printing, envelope and stationery papers. The $90 million recycling plant will begin construction shortly, with production to commence in early 2014.

“We are proud of this investment in sustainable Victorian manufacturing and would like to acknowledge the strong support we have received from a broad range of stakeholders including our customers, unions, the Latrobe City Council, environmental groups and a range of business and community stakeholders. In particular, we thank the State and Commonwealth Governments and Low Carbon Australia for their support and for sharing our vision to make this investment possible,” Henneberry adds.

Australian Paper notes that an economic impact report, prepared by Western Research Institute, calculates that the company’s total operations supported around 6,000 jobs and contributed more than $750 million to the Australian economy in 2011.