In a demonstration of the broad value of the Geelong Refinery to Australia’s economy, Viva Energy is excited to announce it has produced its first ISCC+ certified mass balanced bio-based polymer (recycled food-grade plastic) following the successful processing of a batch of used cooking oil (UCO) at the refinery. 

It is the first time UCO has been utilized to create bio-based polymers though the Geelong refinery’s catalytic cracker and adjacent polypropylene plant. 

The UCO came from Intersnack ANZ in New South Wales where it had been used to cook some of Australia’s favorite snacks like Kettle Chips, CC’s, Natural Chip Company, Thins and Cheezels. Later this year Intersnack ANZ will use this ISCC+ certified mass balance bio-based material to create plastic packaging for some of its products. This represents an exciting development for Intersnack ANZ in its efforts to build strong partnerships, support local innovation, and to reduce its environmental footprint. 

This is an important step in creating a circular economy using feedstocks made from waste and complements Viva Energy’s plastic recycling project with Cleanaway. This initiative could provide significant sustainability solutions for food and packaging manufacturers in advance of a new regulatory recycling scheme proposed by the Australian Government. 

Cleanaway collected and processed the UCO to remove any impurities before it was delivered to the Geelong Refinery for processing. Viva Energy has invested in upgrades at the refinery to allow the injection of these alternative feedstocks into its complex infrastructure. 

Viva Energy Chief Strategy Officer Lachlan Pfeiffer said the project was initiated as a proof-of-concept exercise to collect data, understand the properties of the feedstock and the complexities of the UCO supply chain. 

“Over time, the plan is to expand the scale of the processing, create new roles for the refinery and transform the site into a broader energy hub,” he said. “There is growing interest in plastic with recycled content and in a more sustainable solution to Australia’s plastic waste challenges, particularly from food manufacturers like Intersnack ANZ. We believe there will be a strong market for food-grade packaging made from recycled materials, but we recognize there is a need for regulatory support for this to be a success.” 

Intersnack ANZ CEO Kurt Preshaw said this project will help Intersnack ANZ to develop a pathway to reduce the company’s scope 3 carbon emissions. 

“We are excited about this important first step for Intersnack ANZ and its potential to address the broader industry challenge of plastic waste. Piloting used cooking oil as a feedstock has provided Viva Energy with an effective way to explore alternative inputs for the refinery, opening a pathway for the acceptance of oil from Australian recycled soft plastics,” he said.

Preshaw added: “Our customers and consumers expect us to reduce our reliance on virgin plastic, and this initiative is a critical first step toward that goal. We are proud to be driving this innovation locally in Australia alongside the passionate team at Viva Energy. As the project progresses, we look forward to measuring its impact on emissions and continuing our collaboration to achieve our ambitious sustainability targets.” 

Wednesday’s announcement demonstrates that Viva Energy has the infrastructure and skills at the refinery to play a critical role in establishing a more sustainable economy in Australia. Over the next 12 months, it will quantify the environmental benefits of the bio, recycled and lower carbon fuels and products it produces. The refinery is part of the Viva Energy Hub, which supports energy security, the energy transition and the circular economy. 

In coming months, Viva Energy expects to announce the successful processing of other alternative feedstocks at the refinery, including plastic pyrolysis oil and tyre pyrolysis oil. These are all exciting demonstrations of a circular economy for persistent and hard-to-deal-with waste streams in Australia. 

About the Sustainability Certification Process 

The Viva Energy process is certified through International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC+) to give customers transparency on the renewable feedstock content in the recycled plastic. Viva Energy uses this internationally recognized certification to track the amount of sustainable materials, in this case UCO, being processed through the Geelong Refinery. The sustainable materials are then allocated to the end product even if the UCO has been mixed with traditional hydrocarbons during processing. 

A sustainability declaration is provided to Intersnack ANZ to certify the use of the sustainable materials. This approach is called mass balance free attribution and allows companies to claim that their products contain a certain percentage of sustainable materials, based on careful bookkeeping, without needing to physically separate the molecules.