Gold Oil Solutions has built a business from its Brisbane base which collects used cooking oil, and distributes replacement product including Australian canola oil. File photo: Goodrop Oils

A BUSINESS that recycles cooking oil collected in south-east Queensland has found a friend in the poultry industry, and is looking to broaden its customer base in the livestock sector.

Starting as a means of alleviating the pressure on Brisbane’s wastewater system from used vegetable oil, the business, Gold Oil Solutions, has now also become a distributor for cooking oil made from sources including Australian canola.

While biofuel is attracting much attention as a developing sector, Gold Oil Solutions director Chris Chrysostomou said the business is pleased to be supplying animal industries, as well as helping to solve a municipal and hospitality-industry problem.

Public challenge sparks private business

Gold Oil Solutions was kicked off in 2020 by Mr Chrysostomou and fellow director Len Hutton, whose father Frank Hutton was the principal of Associated Oils, which in its day was Australia’s biggest recycler of used cooking oil.

“Len read about fatbergs and the problems they were causing, and he approached me to see if we could find a way to try and resolve the issue of people putting waste oil into the public system,” Mr Chrysostomou said.

“That led us to approach Brisbane City Council, and once we understood the pain point, we put in collection points at the council’s resource recovery centres.”

Leonard and his father Frank Hutton at work at the business on Lytton Road in Brisbane. Photo: Gold Oil Solutions

Located at Chandler, Ferny Grove, Nudgee, and Willawong, they were the foundation for Gold Oil Solutions’ volume, now supplemented by collections from cafes and restaurants in Brisbane and beyond.

While the Victorian-based family business Cookers has a national presence and can cater for large-scale operations, Gold Oil Solutions has found a market by servicing smaller ones.

“We’re interested in those business with one to five shops, and we’re Queensland-orientated.”

“We go from Noosa to the Tweed and anywhere in between.”

Its service involves collecting used cooking oil in hatch-style tanks and flat-top stainless tanks engineered by Len Hutton.

They have improved workplace health and safety for staff charged with changing cooking oil, and therefore encourage safe disposal of the product.

“We found the design of tanks people were being asked to pour into wasn’t great in some cases.

“People were having to lift heavy pots away from the body, and what we’ve made is a tank with a splashback that gives you a bigger area to pour into, and at waist height.

“It means you’re pivoting rather than lifting.”

Gold Oil Solutions fabricates two types of vessels for eateries, stainless tanks to receive fresh cooking oil delivered by its tankers, and the yellow units to store used cooking oil for collection. Photo: Gold Oil Solutions

Gold Oil Solutions started distributing in 2022 for Goodrop, and then for its distributor Sherman Foods, in south-east Queensland, which is devoid of any large-scale oilseed crushers.

Sherman Foods is also the national distributor for Riverina Oils, which annually crushes around 200,000 tonnes of canola, most or all of it grown in southern New South Wales and crushed at its plant at Bomen near Wagga Wagga.

“They launched into the Queensland market, and they were happy for us to become a distributor of their packaged goods.”

“They were initially doing boxes and tins, but now supply regular bulk B-double deliveries to service our trolley, IBC and bulk-delivery customers.”

Bulk oil is decanted into storage tanks at Gold Oil Solutions’ site on Lytton Road in Brisbane ready for distribution to restaurants and cafes.

“Our fleet of trucks fills and delivers IBCs to clients whilst also filling their fresh oil trolleys.

“What we’re distributing for them is predominantly canola oil from the Riverina Oils plant at Wagga, but also cottonseed oil, and high-oleic sunflower oil.”

Liked by birds

Darwalla Milling feed manager Gary Heidenreich said Gold Oil Solutions deliveries have become a welcome addition to deliveries at both its Mt Cotton mill for broiler feed south of Brisbane, and at its breeding facility at Clifton on the Darling Downs.

Between them, the two Darwalla sites generally buy all the refined used cooking oil Gold Oil Solutions produces.

Like most feed millers, Darwalla will vary its inputs and proportions according to price, but Gold Oil Solutions has become a staple for environmental as well as nutrition reasons.

“It’s a dust suppressant, but its main role is providing energy for the birds,” Mr Heidenreich said of the oil.

“What we use most of is wheat, and wheat is low in energy and low in protein.

“We can draw energy from all materials, and what we can’t get from meals and grains, we can get from oil.

“What we normally do with Chris and Len is take a guesstimate on the usage, and put it in a three to six-month projection.”

Time for expansion

Gold Oil Solutions now runs a fleet of around 10 trucks, including a recently purchased prime mover to haul a tank with a 23,000-litre capacity.

The Gold Oil Solutions fleet includes trucks which collect used cooking oil and distribute replacement fresh oil. Photo: Gold Oil Solutions

Despite its increasing throughput, Mr Chrysostomou said the business feels selling used cooking oil, with fines removed and heated to kill bacteria, is better directed to the feed rather than the biofuel market at this stage.

“In our early days, we supplied to the biofuel industry, but we’ve always prioritised our relationship with Darwalla; we’ve always made sure we didn’t leave them short.”

“We’re adjacent to the Ampol refinery and in years to come, that may be of some interest to us.

“However, we’ve seen a better return from the animal-feed sector.”

It means Gold Oil Solutions is looking for another customer or customers in the poultry or livestock market to supplement demand from Darwalla.

“We’re growing, and their needs fluctuate.”

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