A circular future for lubricants: Best practices for end-of-life management
As the lubricants industry continues to evolve in response to environmental legislation, the ATIEL & UEIL Joint Sustainability Committee has published an insightful resource: Lubricants & Greases End of Life: Sustainable Best Practices. This document offers a practical framework for managing lubricants responsibly at the end of their useful life, with a strong emphasis on circularity, regulatory alignment, and environmental protection.
Lubricants, by their nature, degrade over time due to contamination, oxidation, and additive depletion. Once they reach the end of their life, they become waste oils—substances that, if not properly managed, pose serious risks to ecosystems and human health. A single litre of waste oil can pollute up to one million litres of water, underscoring the urgency of responsible disposal and recovery.
The document advocates for a hierarchy of waste management practices to be considered, beginning with prevention and extending through reuse, regeneration, and, only as a last resort, disposal. Prevention could involve extending lubricant life through high-performance formulations and condition monitoring. Reuse, while limited for lubricants, could be achieved in specific applications such as transformer oils through reconditioning techniques.
Lubricant regeneration, particularly re-refining, emerges as a standout and efficient way of advancing oil circularity within the industry. This process recovers valuable base oils, enabling their reuse in new formulations and significantly reducing the carbon footprint compared to virgin oil production. The use of re-refined base oils (RRBOs) is highlighted as one cornerstone of sustainable practice. Modern RRBOs, including Group II and III grades, now rival virgin oils in quality and performance for many applications. Their adoption supports resource conservation, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and aligns with European sustainability goals. However, the document also acknowledges that RRBOs are not universally
UEIL/ATIEL Joint Sustainability Committee Working Groups
applicable and must be matched appropriately to performance requirements.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes are another key element within the document and to driving lubricant circularity. These frameworks assign lifecycle accountability to producers, ensuring that waste oils are collected, treated, and re-refined in accordance with environmental standards. Successful EPR models across Europe, such as Cyclevia in France and Valorlub in Belgium, demonstrate the power of coordinated stakeholder engagement and robust legislation.
The publication also looks at the complexities of cross-border waste oil shipments, advocating for regeneration at a regional level, to minimise transport emissions and maintain control over processing standards.
Ultimately, this document is a call to action. It encourages lubricant manufacturers, distributors, and users to embrace a circular economy mindset — one that values resource efficiency, transparency, and continuous improvement. By considering and implementing the best practices outlined, the industry can look to reduce its environmental footprint, enhance compliance, and contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable future.
To access the full document and begin integrating these practices into your operations, visit the ATIEL and UEIL websites.
ueil.org/sustainability/ atiel.eu/
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.188 AUGUST 2025
51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
