The public consultation on the Waste Oils Protocol was launched on 28 July 2008 by the Environment Agency and the Government funded Waste and Resources Action Programme, and will close on 20 October. It is anticipated that a post-consultation draft of the protocol will be submitted to the European Commission in January 2009 for notification as a technical regulation in accordance with the Technical Standards Directive (98/34/EC). Subject to no substantial difficulties arising from this notification, the final protocol will then be published in August 2009.