Our Positions
GEIR advocates for an increase in the collection and regeneration of waste oils, through:
1
Setting mandatory targets for collection and regeneration
2
Ensuring a high level of recycled content in lubricants
3
Adopting efficient Extended Producer Responsibility schemes
The Waste Framework Directive (WFD) (Directive 2008/98/EC) establishes a waste hierarchy, with waste prevention as the primary target, followed by preparing for re-use and recycling, and then recovery and disposal). Regarding waste oils, Article 21 of the Directive outlines that waste oils should be collected separately unless this is not technically feasible.
Furthermore, waste oils should be treated giving priority to regeneration (re-refining) over energy recovery and disposal. However, despite the introduction of the waste hierarchy, inadequate implementation across the Member States and the competition for the energetic recovery (processing into fuels and burning) of waste oils remain ongoing issues that prevent the further re-refining of waste oils across Europe.