Qenos, Australia's largest manufacturer of plastics and chemicals, entered voluntary custody on Wednesday, which dealt a heavy blow to Australia's plastics manufacturing industry.
About 700 jobs are at risk of losing their jobs, and the future of the company's manufacturing facilities in Victoria and New South Wales is uncertain.
Qenos operates two main factories, one in Altona, west of Melbourne, employing 450 workers; The other, Botany, in Sydney, employs 250 people.
Company staff revealed that they learned about it at a recent internal meeting. The Botany plant is about to close because it has been shut down since the cooling tower collapsed in February.
As Australia's only manufacturer of polyethylene and polymers, Qenos boasts on its website that "if you see or use plastic in a household item, it's probably made by us." We directly contribute more than $1 billion annually to the Australian economy. "
Qenos is a strategically important business in Australia as it produces ethylene and polyethylene, the core feedstock for pipes that carry water and sewage.
High oil prices and the closure of the Altona refinery in recent years have led to operational difficulties for Qenos.
Qenos was recently sold by its Chinese parent company, ChemChina, to property developer Logos.
A spokesman for the Minister of Industry said the government was "actively monitoring the situation" and the impact on workers and supply chains.
Experts have warned that the collapse of Qenos will deal a serious blow to Australia's plans to build an end-to-end plastics recycling industry.
The 2021 National Plastics Plan set a target of 70% recycling of plastic packaging by 2025, but that goal is now struggling.
In 2022, Qenos and Cleanaway launched a feasibility study to break down and reuse 10,000 tonnes of packaging per year, the equivalent of two Sydney Harbour Bridges, but this plan has now been put on hold and the plastic will end up in landfills.
The future of Australia's plastics manufacturing industry is in doubt. The Australian media believes that the government, businesses and the public need to work together to find a way out of sustainable development, otherwise it will affect the economy, the environment and society as a whole.