1.      SIGAUS’ aim is to ensure the collection and proper handling of waste oil throughout Spain, given that we are dealing with two loss-making activities. In the specific case for collection, due to its fragmentation (in Spain there are 1,000 major producers that account for half of the waste oil collected, and 60,000 very small ones who share 25% of the residue), and the geographical dispersion (almost 30% of waste oil are collected in routes of more than 100 km), it would not be possible to carry this out without the external financing provided by SIGAUS.

2.      The current economic climate, with low petrol prices, brings with it an additional complexity to this situation, reducing the value of waste oil as raw material, and the interest of handlers dealing with their collection. Bearing this in mind, SIGAUS is working towards continuing to ensure a cost-free universal collection service for producers of residues, facilitating, should this be necessary, an alternative collection company that will perform this task at no cost to the producer; irrespective of the latter’s location, and whenever the waste oil are compliant with the relevant specifications.

3.      With respect to this, SIGAUS would like to remind you of the different channels available to provide information to producer points (such as car repairs) on collectors that might be able to remove residue for you at no cost:

• Web page: www.sigaus.es
• Telephone: 917 991 551
• Email: info@sigaus.es

4.      Without prejudice to the foregoing, SIGAUS would like to remind you that the economic conditions between producer and waste oil managers are subject to the free markets, therefore, a specific collector is not duty bound to carry out the collection at no cost, thus, charging for said service would not be illegal. However, the producer does have the right to have on hand a free collection service for waste oils whenever these comply with certain specifications, and it will be the integrated management systems who will be entrusted with the role of ensuring this is so.

5.      Waste oils are a dangerous residues that are highly contaminating and harmful to the environment, along with people’s health. Preventing a negative impact on both requires responsible action plans on the part of the different agents operating during the life cycle of industrial oils: manufacturers, residue generators and handling companies.

Although we are dealing with economic agents within a free market context, as part of the said responsible actions plans there can be no room for the use of the circumstantial value of waste oils (influenced by a market as volatile as that of petrol and its derivatives) to achieve additional economic revenue, neither on the part of the residue producer (when a bullish petrol market  pushes up the value of used oil), or on the part of its handler (when a bearish petrol market  reduces the value of the residue, as is happening at the present time).