Glide launches NZ’s first oil re‑refinery, turning waste oil into new lubricants

Glide has opened New Zealand's first oil re‑refinery in Pukekohe, capable of processing 24 million litres of waste oil each year. The plant, roughly the size of a football field, can handle about half of the country's total lubricant oil consumption and is designed to expand capacity by 50% in the future. Funding came from roughly $40 million of private investment, and the facility joins a global network of 16 operating re‑refineries, a third of which are in Australia. General manager John Knox said the plant changes the fate of a common waste product that was previously burned after each oil change. Since 1984 Glide has collected waste oil from workshops, dealerships and fleet operators, and now the used oil is re‑refined into high‑quality base oil (RRBO) suitable for new lubricants. Re‑refining restores the base oil, which makes up about 70 % of waste oil, and about 99 % of that base oil can be reused indefinitely. The remaining 30 % – water, light cut, middle distillate and asphalt extender – is also recovered, producing gas oil for energy and a bituminous “gungy residue”. Each litre of RRBO reduces the need for imported virgin oil, though some users may lose a source of cheap fuel. Independent verification by Toitū Envirocare estimates the switch could cut carbon emissions by up to 100 000 tonnes annually. Executive director Gavin Thomas called the plant a new tool for cutting emissions, noting that workshops and fleet operators can now prove their waste oil is recycled rather than burned.

Context

Re‑refining turns used oil back into a product comparable to new base oil, extending the oil’s life cycle and lowering reliance on crude imports. The emissions savings stem from avoiding the energy‑intensive process of refining virgin oil and from not burning waste oil for heat.