Waste Oil

As all waste oils from machines, engines, gearboxes or turbines may be very harmful to the environment if they find their way into soil or water, their handling is subject to stringent environmental regulations. For example, the Waste Oil Ordinance provides that the sale of engine oils and gear oils is only permitted if a waste oil reception point exists at or in the immediate vicinity of the point of sale.

For instance, if a department store sells engine oil it is required to accept the same amount of returned waste oil. If this is not possible at the point where the new engine oil is sold, a written notice must clearly indicate the whereabouts of the nearest waste oil reception point, which must be in the immediate vicinity.

There are also strict regulations for the disposal of waste oil: waste oils are either reprocessed to obtain new lubricants or heating oil, incinerated to generate energy, or disposed of as special waste. Germany gives financial assistance for waste oil reprocessing.

To increase the reprocessing of waste oil the Waste Oil Ordinance was amended in Germany and is in force since 1 May 2002.

Meanwhile about 75 % of the waste oil is recycled and 25 % is used as energy, so that nearly 100% of the waste oil is recovered (about 450.000 tonnes in 2003).

The guideline for the promotion of the processing from waste oil to basis oil regulates this in the Federal Republic of Germany.