Oils: Waste Disposal

Tom Levitt
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has undertaken a life cycle assessment of re-refining waste oils into lubricants by (a) burning waste oils as recovered fuel oil in European Waste Incineration Directive-compliant plants and (b) other means of disposal of waste oils.

Dan Norris
DEFRA has not commissioned specific studies on the life cycle assessment of re-refining waste oils into lubricants. However, we are aware of the following life cycle studies conducted by others:

Ecological and energetic assessment of re-refining used oils to base oils: Substitution of primarily produced base oils including semi-synthetic and synthetic compounds:

http://www.geir-rerefining.org/documents/LCA_en_short_version.pdf

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Improving Recycling Report ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2005)3/FINAL:

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/14/35582045.pdf

Critical Review of Existing Studies and Life Cycle Analysis on the Regeneration and Incineration of Waste Oils:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/studies/oil/waste_oil_xsum.pdf