Knowing they are the only used oil collecting company with an export facility is also very important to us as it removes the danger a waste oil glut like that which occurred a few years ago and which cause very severe disruptions to our industry.

I have no hesitation in recommending Wren Oil to any company requiring this type of service.

Steve King
Fixed Operations Manager                     Click here to see PDF

Simonne Grimes,
Environmental Manager | Resources Division | Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd

Tony Battersby
Manager Waste Services / Chief Executive Officer

FMG prioritizes its environmental responsibility and we enjoy peace of mind knowing that Wren Oil implements strict environmental standards that meet the requirements of our Environmental Management Systems.

Wren Oil has continued to improve and deliver an environmentally sound, reliable and efficient service, which we are proud to recommend

Brett Richardson
Environmental Advisor

Phil Winkless,
Director

While there have been a range of proposals put forward by various industry participants only Wren Oil have actually invested in the “Industry Solution”

Specializing in the processing of over 12 million litres of waste oil per year from all over the state, this recent award is just one of many, which Wren Oil has accrued over the past two years, including the State Recycling Awards in 2000.

Working within the oil recycling field for over 20 years, the company is the only one in WA which actually re-refines oil, which then permits waste oil to be returned to the market place as an economical fuel for energy production, chainsaw oil, hydraulic oil and other automotive products.

Furthermore, the company boasts a complete waste recycling service for associated workshop wastes.

Wren Oil Winner of the State 2000 3R Award

Fred Wren, Director of Wren Oil indicated that the award recognised the company’s commitment to preserving Western Australia’s environment and natural resources. “It is Wren Oil’s aim to increase our recycling capacity to over 20 million litres per annum and we encourage any business that handles waste oil to utilise our environmentally sound service. “It is a known fact that one litre of oil can contaminate over 1 million litres of drinking water and as such it is essential that companies dealing with waste oil, process it correctly.” Wren Oil employs five trucks throughout the state and offers a free waste oil collection service to farmers, councils, automotive outlets, petrol stations, mining companies and similar industries.

For more information about Wren Oil’s services contact Alex Wren on freecall 1800 654 002.

Wren Oil won both the 2001 Small Business environmental award and the overall category award for small businesses with less than 50 employees and will now be forwarded as a shortlist candidate for the Telstra State Small Business Awards.

Processing over 12 million litres of waste oil per year from all over the state, or around 40% of the waste stream, the small business has overcome tough competition from large multi-national organisations to achieve this prestigious title.

Established in 1981, Wren Oil was processing waste oil before recycling was even a well known jargon.

Fred Wren, owner of Wren Oil stated that after investing millions of dollars on processing equipment, his company was the only one in Western Australia to boast a re-refining process, which permitted waste oil to be returned to the market place as fuel, chainsaw oil, hydraulic oil and other automotive products.

“It is Wren Oil’s aim to increase our capacity to over 20 million litres per annum and we are seeking government and industry assistance to reach this target, “Mr Wren said.

“We encourage any business that handles waste oil to utilize our services and therefore play a role in maintaining and conserving our environment and valuable resources.”

“It is a known fact that one litre of oil can contaminate over one million litres of drinking water and as such it is essential that companies dealing with waste oil, process it correctly.”

Wren Oil employs five trucks throughout the state and offers a free waste oil collection service. The company also won the small business category for the South West 3R Awards held in Bunbury in June 2000.

The larger than life Californian farmer-turned-environmentalist has too much invested in Western Australia to be the millionaire some suspect he already is.

But if the financial rewards do come his way Western Australians should be grateful. Because Fred Wren’s success will be in direct proportion to the environmental benefits accrued by WA. It will happen because Fred Wren and his family had the courage and the vision to decide it was time for them to take an active part in recycling the oil which is a legacy of our automotive, transport, mining, agricultural and other industries.

History will show that once taken, the decision to inaugurate Wren Oil was not implemented without considerable dramas of a fiscal, political and environmental nature.

The amount of money invested in the Wren Oil refinery and recycling plant at Picton near Bunbury, is mind-blowing. There are enough Wren Oil trucks collecting used oils, hydraulic fluids, coolant and other liquids on a statewide basis to do justice to a significant transport outfit.

They drag in about 12 million litres of oil from collection runs which cover the state from the south coast, east to the Goldfields, north through the Pilbara and beyond.

Wren guarantees that every last drop will be recycled. Because his company is so good at its job. not only does the environment benefit, we all have more money in our pockets as well. That’s because much of Wren’s used oil is recycled to fuel Western Power generating stations. This results in an across-the-state cost saving ­ as well as significant environmental benefits ­ so we all pay less for power. Believe me, its better to use the stuff than try to jettison it.

It is a favorite Wren Oil saying that one litre of oil can contaminate a million litres of groundwater. Much smarter to clean and use oil as at least a fuel source.

There are various levels of that fuel produced by Wren. In its most basic form it powers brickworks, foundries, abattoirs as well as Western Power installations. Which means those businesses spend less so there’s more money to go around, more protection for a finite resource. Which probably pleases everyone but the initial producers.

They too, have been charged with accepting responsibility for lubrication oils they produce. Producers have to be able to account for oils produced and oils sold. It’s called oil stewardship and it comes at a charge to the user to cover the cost of looking after that oil.

There’s no charge for the Wren Oil service, however. It will supply on-site inspection tanks, will collect waste oils and coolants according to regular schedules and it will even ensure a secure future for old oily rags. There are second lives to be lived by used solvents and water-based parts washing fluids and such a horde of other products recovered we should blush in memory of those fluids we use to toss away. Too often as latent environmental hazards no-one particularly cared about.

Wren Oil’s is a good news story. Its recovered product include kero, petrol, diesel and glycol, while the re-refining process also includes concrete mould oil, chainsaw bar oil and hydraulic oil. Re-refined motor oil could be a real possibility for the future.

There are some wastes from Wren which don’t have ready sales appeal. But they are not allowed to degrade the environment either. A system of sludge treatments and disposal and biological or evaporative on site oily water treatments means that any surplus is environmentally benign. Even some of these wastes live again; they are recycled for refinery washdowns.

None of this happened by chance. It happened because Fred Wren saw an opportunity to supply second­life fuel oil to a local abattoir and it grew from there. It happened despite some heavy duty commercial battles and it happened solidly enough to give Fred the confidence to return to his native US to buy technology to enable him to refine products even further.

That meant very substantial investments, involving an enormous vote of confidence in the future of going green when Fred Wren bought a complete processing package from his native US. He showed me round the place, but, techo-simpleton as he must believe me to be, I’m certain it would take me days to get my head round the intricacies of this operation. Which doesn’t really matter at all. What does matter is that the 12 million litre Wren Oil harvest represents less than a half of used WA oils which could be treated.

If the majority of that gets into the Wren Oil pipeline, the environmental benefits accruing to WA will be enormous.

I get the distinct impress that if anyone can make it work, Fred Wren can. Especially now sons Alex and David are fully fledged members of the operation, looking after transport and refining matters respectively.

Written by David Lloyd – Editor
Motor Western Australia
Publication of the Motor Trade Association of Western Australia
Volume 66 March 2001
ISSN 1442-8148