Viva Energy has completed a proof-of-concept project to turn soft plastics pyrolysis oil into recycled polypropylene for food-grade packaging, using a mass balance method to track recycled content through the manufacturing process.
The locally manufactured recycled polypropylene was used to wrap a limited run of Nestlé’s KitKat chocolate bars now making their way to stores nationwide.
The trial builds on Viva Energy and Nestle’s collaboration in 2022, which pioneered the use of recycled soft plastic packaging on its 4 Finger KitKat bar. It demonstrates how the supply chain for plastic packaging – from refinery processing through to finished food-grade consumer wrapper – can be delivered within Australia, with every stage of the packaging run completed in Victoria.
While this was a single batch rather than an ongoing manufacturing supply chain, it shows what a more circular future for soft plastics could look like in Australia: creating value from difficult-to-recycle materials such as food packaging, helping keep more material in productive use for longer, and reducing the amount of soft plastic sent to landfill.
Viva Energy said the project demonstrates that supportive government policy in Australia could help to establish a true circular economy for soft plastics, including support for domestic collection, sorting, recycling and advanced manufacturing capability to re-use waste products.
In 2025, Viva Energy successfully processed more than 9.5 tonnes of plastic pyrolysis oil at its Geelong Refinery as part of the proof of concept, demonstrating the suitability of the facility for large-scale processing of soft plastics pyrolysis oil in Australia.
Five tonnes of Viva Energy-manufactured recycled polypropylene were subsequently processed through a Victorian downstream supply chain to produce the bespoke KitKat wrappers.
Nestlé partnered with Taghleef Industries and Amcor to complete a custom Victorian production run of seven million wrappers in March 2026. The initiative has already seen a limited run of KitKat 4 Fingers packaged using the wrappers made with mass balance ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification)-certified recycled soft plastic.
The project also demonstrated the integrity of ISCC PLUS through a local downstream supply chain, providing confidence that recycled material processed in Australia can meet the traceability requirements expected by customers, consumers and regulators.
Insights from the trial will help inform packaging design standards and improve understanding of how to maximise the volume of soft plastic processed through advanced recycling technologies. These learnings will also inform the development of policies to establish commercial-scale circular solutions.
For this trial, plastic pyrolysis oil feedstock was imported because suitable local supply is not yet available at scale, underlining the need for policy settings that support domestic collection, sorting and recycling capability so future circular supply chains can be established in Australia.
Viva Energy and Cleanaway are continuing a full feasibility study into a large-scale plastic recycling project, with the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase expected to start once details of the Australian Government’s packaging reform have been finalised.
Viva Energy’s Executive General Manager Energy and Infrastructure, Bill Patterson, said the project showed how Geelong Refinery could help unlock recycled polypropylene manufacturing capability in Australia from soft plastic waste to valuable high-quality food-grade packaging.
“Geelong Refinery is Australia’s last remaining site with this level of refining and processing capability and its only manufacturer of polypropylene,” Patterson said.
“We have proven the use of soft plastics pyrolysis oil as a feedstock and demonstrated how existing industrial infrastructure can be adapted to support a circular plastics economy.
“This project celebrates the strength of Victoria’s manufacturing capability across the full value chain. We have a highly skilled workforce and the right infrastructure and technology to play a key role in the emerging circular economy.”
Patterson said the trial was an important step, but scaling solutions like this will require the right policy settings to support domestic collection systems, recycling infrastructure and investment, including an effective extended producer responsibility scheme for soft plastics.
He said that with the right policy settings for collection and processing of soft plastics, the refinery has the capacity to process a lot more.
Andrew Lawrey, General Manager Confectionery, Nestlé Oceania, said Nestlé was the collaboration demonstrated what’s possible when industry works together to tackle packaging challenges and accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.
“By incorporating recycled soft plastic from Viva Energy’s advanced recycling trial into a limited run of KitKat packaging, we’re helping test new pathways to keep valuable materials in circulation and build confidence in emerging recycling solutions,” Lawrey said
“Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has an important role to play in creating the investment certainty needed to scale Australia’s recycling system. Maintaining momentum on EPR and supporting sovereign recycling capability will be critical to unlocking circularity at scale and keeping valuable materials in the local economy.”
“Soft plastic should be treated as a key material, not a waste stream. Recent global disruption has reinforced that packaging is part of Australia’s food supply system: if we cannot package food, we cannot move it, sell it, or keep it on shelves. Building local circular capability will strengthen supply resilience, support manufacturing, and keep valuable materials in the Australian economy.”
Extracted in full from: https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/viva-energy-converts-soft-plastics-into-recycled-polypropylene-for-kitkat-wrappers/
