Governor Nathan Deal stopped by to tour Pratt Industries in Conyers and cut the ribbon in the official opening of Pratt/Visy’s Clean Energy Plant on Tuesday. The $60,000 energy plant, the Australian company’s fourth globally and first in the Untied States, gasifies waste from the recycled paper mill to create steam and energy.

 Pratt CEO Anthony Pratt, said every day the plant turns 700 tons of waste that would normally go into the landfill into steam and electricity. “Whether you’re an environmentalist or not, we can all agree wasting resources is a terrible thing to do,” he said.

 Deal echoed the sentiment. “The plant provides a great example of the kind of advantages of clean energy in what they offer to Georgia and the entire country,” Deal said. “It represents something every one of us should be able to get behind - reduced energy costs, reduced environmental footprint.”

 Deal cited the resources saved for every ton of recycled paper created at Pratt:“I’m told we save 17 trees, 2.1 cubic yards of landfill space, 3100 kilowatt hours of electricity, and something Georgians have become more conscious of in recent years –14,500 gallons of water.”