Belgium
UEIL Local Report: Extended producer responsibility of used oils in Belgium
More than 10 years ago the three Belgian regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital region) implemented a take-back obligation for used oil. In more recent regulations this take-back obligation evolved to an extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR is an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle. The regulations in the three regions comply with European directive 2008/98.
Because it is difficult for individual companies to comply with this obligation, the industry, through the federations in question (including the Lubricants Association Belgium) established the non-profit producer responsibility organisation Valorlub to take care of the practical execution of the take-back obligation of its participants.
Valorlub signed environmental policy agreements (EPA) with the different regions. Agreements were reached in these EPA as to how producers and importers of oil need to meet their legal obligations. Valorlub therefore carries out all the obligations arising from the EPA on behalf of its participants.
Valorlub currently has almost 200 participants. They are producers and importers of oil, also if the lubricant is an integral component of a finished product in, for instance, vehicles and machines (first fill). The producers and importers pay a fee to Valorlub depending on the quantities and the type of oil they sell on the Belgian market. The aim of this fee is to allow Valorlub to fulfil its responsibilities. The fee is only collected for oil that generates used oil, i.e. not oil for lost lubrication or process oil.
A large part of this fee goes to the collection and processing of used oil via civic amenity sites. Households can bring in used oil free of charge.
Companies which only have a small amount of used oil collected every year are entitled to compensation.
Valorlub has also been instructed to make users aware on how to handle their used oil correctly. The awareness of professional users is raised through specialised magazines for farmers, garages, transport companies and companies with machine parks. Valorlub also communicates through industrial organisations. Private users are notified primarily via radio, online, print and outdoor advertising. Raising people’s awareness is taken very seriously as is proven by the considerable annual investment of almost a million euros.
Valorlub itself has no operational activities. It allows the free market to decide. It collects information of producers and importers about the quantities of oil on the market. Valorlub also works with about 15 collectors of oil. Against payment they provide information about the used oil they collected and how it was processed. It allows Valorlub to calculate the collection and processing percentages.
Valorlub collects participants’ commercial data through an external entity, Recydata vzw. Recydata acts as a black box and ensures that market data, prices, market shares, etc. of individual companies cannot be derived from the individual data. Recydata only reports consolidated data to Valorlub.
Reliable reporting requires the necessary checks. This is why Recydata has the data of all collectors of used oil audited every year. The producers and importers’ data relating to the quantities of oil on the market is also periodically and randomly audited by third parties.
In 2014, Valorlub achieved a collection percentage of 91% of the total quantity of collectable oil. Approximately 95% is collected from professional users and 5% through civic amenity sites.
91% of the collected oil goes to re-refining and other reuse (R9*). The water fraction is purified and the remainder is burned with recovery of energy.
In the ‘Development of Guidance on EPR’ benchmark study, conducted in 2014 by ‘BIO by Deloitte’ commissioned by the European Commission, Belgium is in first place.
* R9 is one of the Recovery (R) and Disposal (D) (R/D) codes of Annexes II A and II B of Directive 75/442/EEC
R9 specifically is “Oil re-refining or other uses of oil”. See also
http://www.eurowaste.be/types-of-waste.shtml
Local report
LINK
www.valorlub.be
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.130 DECEMBER 2015
53
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