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AGB Solutions
Pristine NZ tidal estuary at golden hour with herons standing in calm water

Closing the loop on waste oil

Every litre of oil we collect is a litre that does not end up in a drain, a waterway, or a landfill. That is the starting point.

The circular economy in practice

Waste oil is a resource that has finished one job. It is not rubbish. It still has energy in it, and that energy can be put to work.

Most of the oil we collect heats horticultural glasshouses in the region. Those glasshouses grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and flowers for New Zealand tables. The oil from a Waikato workshop might be keeping an Auckland glasshouse warm the same week. That is a closed loop.

Every litre that stays out of a drain or a landfill is a litre doing useful work somewhere in the region.

AGB

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Interior of a New Zealand tomato glasshouse with rows of ripening fruit, warmed by recovered waste oil collected by AGB Solutions
The second life of your oil

Your workshop's used oil heats NZ glasshouses that grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and cut flowers.

Environmental protection

The benefits are real. Recycling keeps used oil out of New Zealand waterways. One litre of engine oil can contaminate up to a million litres of water.

It also provides a viable alternative heat source for food and plant production, reducing the demand for virgin fossil fuels and extending the life of a finite resource. At AGB Solutions, we will always tell you what we can and cannot do.

Regulatory compliance

We operate under the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017, with HSNOCOP63 the operative code of practice for the storage and handling of waste oil.

Our customers are also covered. Properly disposing of used oil through a responsible collector means you meet your obligations under New Zealand environmental law. We can provide documentation for your records if required.

Used oil being poured from a workshop container into a sealed collection drum

What happens to your oil

When we collect oil from your site, here is where it goes. We take the oil to our recycling plant where we process the waste to produce a recycled light fuel oil.

The waste oil now has a second useful life used locally for food and flower production, and none of it ends up in a drain. Please note we do not produce new lubricant base stock for export.

01

Collection

Our driver pumps oil directly from your container into our tanker on site. You get a docket confirming the volume and date.

02

Storage & treatment

Oil is held at our Tuakau facility. Treatment to remove contaminants such as water, coolant, fuel and particulates occurs before transfer.

03

Delivery to glasshouses

Delivered to horticultural glasshouses in the region, where it is burned as fuel to heat the growing environment.

For more detail on the records we keep and how we track every litre, see our FAQ on what happens to waste oil after AGB collects it.

Compliance and regulations

How waste oil disposal fits within New Zealand environmental regulations.

Used oil is classified as a hazardous waste under New Zealand environmental law. This means you have legal obligations around its storage and disposal. Using a responsible collector like AGB Solutions means you are meeting those obligations correctly.

Used oil handling, storage, and disposal sit under the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017, with HSNOCOP63 the operative New Zealand code of practice for waste oil.

Yes. We provide documentation for every collection confirming the volume collected and how it was disposed of. This is useful for council audits, environmental reporting, and any other compliance requirements your business has.

No. Discharging oil to the wastewater system or stormwater drains is illegal and can result in significant fines from the council. Even small amounts of oil can cause serious problems in waterways. This is exactly why we exist.

Yes. Every collection comes with documentation showing the date, volume collected, and how the oil was disposed of. If you need something more detailed. A summary of all collections over a period, a specific format, or named recipients for annual environmental reporting or council audits, let us know when you book and we will work out what we can provide.

Every collection comes with a docket showing the volume, the date, and the destination. The oil we collect goes to a known destination. Horticultural glasshouses in the region. Not to an anonymous facility. If you want to know more before you book, call us and we will tell you exactly where your oil goes.

Collected oil is transported to our Tuakau facility where it undergoes treatment to remove contaminants such as water, coolant, fuel and particulates. The light fuel oil that is produced is supplied to horticultural glasshouses in the region where it is burned as fuel to heat the growing environment. Every litre stays out of New Zealand waterways.

New Zealand does not operate a single national hazardous waste manifest system for used oil, but generators must keep records of how hazardous substances are stored, transferred, and disposed of under the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 and HSNOCOP63. Using a responsible collector covers the transfer and disposal side of that obligation.

We issue a docket for every collection showing the date, volume, and destination. That document is what most councils, WorkSafe NZ inspectors, and auditors want to see. If your industry or resource consent requires a specific manifest format, tell us when you book and we will work out what we can provide.

Used oil filters and oily rags are hazardous waste under the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 and cannot go in general rubbish or recycling. They must go to a licensed hazardous waste contractor or a council transfer station that accepts them.

AGB Solutions collects liquid oil only. We do not take filters, absorbent pads, or spill kit material. Drain filters upside down for at least 24 hours over a collection tray before disposal; the drained oil can then go into your AGB collection drum. For filters and rags themselves, your local council resource recovery centre or a specialist contractor is the right route. WorkSafe NZ also expects these materials to be stored in sealed, labelled containers on site.

No. Under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS), recycling waste oil does not generate NZUs, which are New Zealand's official carbon unit. Only activities that physically remove carbon from the atmosphere, primarily forestry, earn NZUs. As a business using a waste oil collection service, you are classified as an end user and are not a regulated ETS participant. The EPA and Ministry for the Environment have confirmed this.

No. That is not how the NZ ETS works. Earning NZUs requires measurable carbon removal from the atmosphere, and waste oil recycling does not qualify. If a company has told you that you will earn NZUs by using their service, ask them for their NZ ETS registration number and the approved methodology. We are not aware of any pathway that allows a waste oil collection customer to earn NZUs. If you want to talk it through, give us a call.

Book a collection

Do the right thing for your business and the environment. Free collection for volumes over 400 litres.

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Or call us directly: 027 289 8174