The Ham Trick Is Organized for the Fifth Time in a Row – Christmas Cooking Waste Fats Are Recycled into Neste MY Renewable Diesel

(Neste) The Ham Trick (Kinkkutemppu in Finnish), a campaign that demonstrates circular economy, will be organized for the fifth Christmas in a row. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage Finnish households to collect and recycle their ham waste fats and other Christmas cooking waste fats, from which Neste will produce Neste MY Renewable Diesel™. The campaign aims to exceed last year's 197,000 household participants and increase the number to 250,000 households.

This year, the campaign will be implemented as a joint project with a total of 15 different organizations. Over the years, the popularity of the campaign has grown even more. Last year, for example, with the cooking waste fats recycled by nearly 200,000 households and the renewable diesel produced from the amount is enough to drive about 19 times around the globe.

“I am happy to tell that the Finnish Ham Trick campaign will continue its tradition to recycle Christmas cooking waste fats to renewable diesel. The campaign is organized for the fifth time in a row and is also requested by the public, which indicates that the Ham Trick has begun to take shape as part of the Christmas traditions of Finnish households. It is great that, together with our partners and Finnish households, we can set an example of the possibilities of circular economy in a concrete way,” says Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President, Innovation at Neste.

A record number of 352 collection points – this is how you participate in the Ham Trick

Neste produces Neste MY Renewable Diesel from the collected cooking waste fats at the Porvoo refinery. The fuel enables greenhouse gas emissions reduction by up to 90%* compared to fossil diesel over the fuel’s lifecycle. Neste can produce renewable diesel from almost any waste fat or vegetable oil. Therefore, in addition to ham waste fat, also other fats, such as the waste fats from turkey and salmon dishes can be delivered to the collection points.

Cooking waste fats can be delivered to the collection points in cardboard boxes, for instance in empty milk cartons. Plastic, glass or metal jars are not suitable for the fat collection. The collection points are open from 18 December 2020 to 8 January 2021. Collection points can be found all around Finland, for example, at selected Neste and Neste K stations, in connection with all K-Citymarkets and numerous K-grocery stores, and at the recycling points of some municipal garbage disposal plants.

*) The method used to calculate life cycle emissions and emission reduction complies with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC).

Ham Trick in brief

The Ham Trick is a cooperative project initiated by the Chemical Industry Federation, with the aim of familiarizing consumers with the principles of circular economy in a very concrete way. In addition to the Chemical Industry Federation, the other organizations behind the campaign are Neste, Lassila & Tikanoja, Honkajoki, Kemian pooli, Kesko Corporation, Finnish Packaging Recycling RINKI, Atria, HKScan, Snellman, the Rural Women’s Advisory Organization, the federation of garbage disposal plants Kiertovoima KIVO and municipal garbage disposal plants, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish Water Utilities Association FIWA and Finnish Environmental Industries YTP. Collection dates, collection points and more information about the campaign can be found at www.kinkkutemppu.com (in Finnish).

Neste in brief

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. We refine waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. We are the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. We aim at helping customers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. As a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products with a commitment to reach carbon-neutral production by 2035, we are also introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as waste plastic as refinery raw materials. We have consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2019, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 15.8 billion, with 82% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products. Read more: neste.com READ MORE