Refining process

A plant with purpose.

Our purpose-built Glide re-refining plant is the first of its kind in New Zealand, designed to recover and reuse base oil indefinitely. By recycling this valuable resource, we help reduce reliance on crude oil, lower carbon emissions, and support a more circular economy.

Cleaner by design.

Glide’s re-refined base oil is estimated to have a carbon footprint at least 50% lower than virgin base oil made from crude oil,* helping reduce reliance on this finite global resource.

Instead of New Zealand’s current alternative — burning waste oil — we re-refine it so the high quality base oil can be reused over and over, without compromising performance.

*Estimate based on a carbon footprint study by Toitū Envirocare.

How it works.

• Collection: waste oil is collected nationwide through our expert team.
• Purification: at our plant, contaminants such as water, sludge, and metals are carefully removed.
• Re-refining: at Glide, our advanced processing technology recovers up to 99% of base oil from waste oil, returning it to a high-quality product (that we call Glide RRBO) that can be reused indefinitely. Glide RRBO accounts for around 70% of the volume of waste oil. The remaining 30% consists mainly of water, light cut, middle distillate and asphalt extender. Through our advanced refining process, these are also recovered and repurposed - ensuring almost 100% of waste oil is reused.
• Reuse: the primary product recovered is Glide RRBO, a premium base oil that meets world-best-practice standards and can be reused again and again. The other products we recover (Glide Light Cut, Glide Middle Distillate and Glide Asphalt Extender) are also reused.

Re-refined vs. recycled: why we’re different.

While others in New Zealand claim to recycle waste oil, what they mean by this is that they simply sell it to be used as a burner fuel. Burning downgrades oil for single-use combustion, releasing unnecessary emissions into our atmosphere.

Re-refining (what we do at Glide) restores oil to its original quality, extending its life and creating a cleaner, more circular solution.

Make a clean break from burning.

For decades, New Zealand’s waste oil has been destroyed through combustion. Today, there is a smarter choice.

By choosing Glide, you’re not just disposing of waste — you’re contributing to a cleaner, lower-carbon, more circular future.