Viva Energy and Nestlé use recycled polypropylene for KitKat wrappers

Pilot and local production

Viva Energy completed a proof-of-concept converting soft plastics pyrolysis oil into recycled polypropylene using mass balance, producing locally manufactured film used for a limited run of Nestlé KitKat 4 Finger wrappers. The trial processed more than 9.5 tonnes of pyrolysis oil at Geelong Refinery in 2025 and produced five tonnes of recycled polypropylene which were converted into seven million custom wrappers in March 2026 by Taghleef Industries and Amcor.

Certifications and supply chain

The project demonstrated ISCC PLUS mass-balance certification through a Victorian downstream supply chain and confirmed that the Geelong Refinery together with its polymers plant is the only facility in Australia capable of chemically recycling used soft plastics into food-grade plastic feedstock. For the trial the plastic pyrolysis oil feedstock was imported because suitable local supply is not yet available at scale.

Implications and next steps

Learnings will inform packaging design standards and help shape policies to establish commercial-scale circular solutions by maximising soft-plastic throughput through advanced recycling. Viva Energy and Cleanaway are continuing a full feasibility study, with the FEED phase expected to start once details of the Australian Government’s packaging reform are finalised. Project leads emphasised the need for domestic collection, sorting, recycling infrastructure and an effective extended producer responsibility scheme to scale the model.