Unveiled yesterday (July 29) by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Environment Agency as part of their Waste Protocols Project, the consultation process seeks industry views on regulations for the standards that processed lubricating oils must comply with in order to considered a fully recovered material.
Processed fuel oil users will be given the confidence that the new product derived from waste materials confirms to agreed quality standards
Martin Brocklehurst, Environment Agency
Currently, there is variation in the quality of recovered fuel oils and it is classified as waste, meaning that any businesses using it must comply with emissions standards outlined in the Waste Incineration Directive.
Under the standards outlined in the Quality Protocol, recovered fuel oils which have attained the levels detailed in the protocol will no longer have to adhere to the regulatory controls waste is subjected to.
The head of environment protection external programmes at the Environment Agency, Martin Brocklehurst, outlined the goals of the protocol.
“We have worked with industry, government departments and the Energy Institute to develop this Quality Protocol. Compliance with the Protocol should ensure the continued protection of the environment whilst clarifying the regulations for businesses that process waste lubricating oil,” he said.
“Processed fuel oil users will be given the confidence that the new product derived from waste materials confirms to agreed quality standards.
“We are keen to hear the views of other stakeholders and hope to engage with a wide range of consultees,” he added.
The Waste Protocols Project has ten materials in total that it is examining, and aims to deliver either a Quality Protocol or a regulatory position statement for each.
It has already issued a Quality Protocol for compost, a regulatory position for soils and deregulated blast furnace slag so that it can now be treated as a by-product and not wastes.
Full Quality Protocols are expects for flat glass and waste vegetable oil in spring 2009, while consultations have also been held for anaerobic digestate, non-packaging plastic waste and tyre-derived rubber materials.
The consultation on the Quality Protocol for using waste lubricating oil to produce processed fuel oil is available until October 22 2008.
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