Vinnies puts used cooking oil to good cause

St Vincent de Paul Society NSW has partnered with Scanline, a Cleanaway business, to launch a used cooking oil recycling scheme, providing vital funding for Vinnies’ work in the community. VUCOR (Vinnies Used Cooking Oil Recycling) is the first independent model supporting a charity that is open to all restaurants across NSW.   

Through the VUCOR scheme, venues will receive their current rebates for waste oil collection with Scanline contributing an additional charitable rebate to Vinnies for every litre of oil that is collected, which comes out of Scanline’s own operating profits. All oil collected through VUCOR will be processed, recycled and sent for further manufacturing to be turned into renewable fuel and animal stock feed in NSW.  

“We launched VUCOR in early 2024, and so far the pick up from venues has been really great. We've found that many restaurant owners are interested in a cooking oil recycling scheme that also supports good causes in their community, especially at no cost to their venues,” says Phil Coyte, Executive Director of Commercial Enterprise, Retail, and Fundraising at St Vincent de Paul Society NSW. Early adopters of the scheme include some major names in Sydney’s hospitality scene including Mary’s, King Clarence of Bentley Group, Club Five Dock RSL, Toppi, and Pilu.   

Aiden Stevens, Group Executive Chef of Bentley Group, says that the partnership between Vinnies and Scanline made VUCOR the top choice for their used cooking oil collection when the group opened a new venue. “For us it was an easy decision to go with Vinnies’ recycling scheme when we opened King Clarence. It’s such a simple way to support their good work. The service has been great and everything’s run smoothly right from day one.”  

VUCOR offers a reliable and professional service, with all equipment and tanks provided to venues free of charge. Funds raised through the VUCOR charitable rebate are reinvested into the community through a range of programs and services run by St Vincent de Paul Society NSW.   

“We’re proud to be a long-standing supporter of Vinnies and always try to help anyway we can,” says Paola Toppi, Owner of upmarket Italian diner Toppi in Martin Place. “It’s great to be able to make such a simple small change to our used oil collections and know that it helps to support their work in the community”.  

Ryan Knights, the National Development Manager at Scanline, says that they were delighted to become the operational partner. “Vinnies are able to bring us new customers who are motivated by their desire to support Vinnies’ work in the community. We are happy to work with such a pro-active and innovative organisation. It really is a positive scheme for everyone—the venue, us, the environment, and most of all the people whose Vinnies’ work helps.”