For almost 17 years, SIGAUS has stood out for its work at the forefront of the management of used industrial oils in Spain under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, regulated by Royal Decree 679/2006, which states that manufacturers and importers of lubricating oils are responsible for financing the management of these oils when their useful life is over. During these years, SIGAUS has provided a stable and efficient response through a system where the balance between the contribution of the member companies and the financing that must be transferred to the management companies to guarantee the free collection of used oil from any generating establishment in Spain and its subsequent treatment.

Since the beginning of its activity, SIGAUS has been financed through the contributions of its member companies, which have been contributing to the system with a fee of €60 per tonne of lubricating oil marketed, which translates into 6 cents per kg that is passed on to consumers.

In a context of rising inflation that is generating uncertainty in the market and undermining the confidence of consumers and companies, SIGAUS has reduced the contribution made by its member companies to the management of used oil.

This reduction has been possible thanks to the mechanisms historically established by the organisation to seek maximum efficiency in the financing of used oil management, allowing SIGAUS to stabilise management costs and take advantage of favourable market conditions, such as high oil prices, which have generated favourable conditions for the sale of products obtained from the treatment of this waste, both regenerated lubricant bases and BIA fuel oil. 

Faced with this new need of companies, GENCI has emerged as an effective solution, where cost optimisation is one of its main competitive advantages. The system benefits from the experience accumulated by SIGAUS, and it is this experience that has allowed us to manage all types of packaging, not just oil packaging, as both types of waste are basically industrial and their generating channels are essentially the same. In addition, GENCI has a solid technological system that guarantees traceability and data security, and has established solid relationships with a wide network of managers specialised in serving the professional channel.

Despite the fact that the packaging waste regulation was approved only a few months ago, since 2018 GENCI has already been successfully managing packaging belonging to different sectors in the Balearic Islands, in compliance with a regional regulation that came into force in 2019. This has allowed the system to develop and test its management model, giving it an additional competitive advantage by being able to replicate this experience at a national level.

This helps to avoid deployment costs and to be able to assist the companies concerned without requiring an upfront membership fee, allowing them to comply with the regulatory requirements in an efficient and simple way.

In order to inform companies about the new packaging waste regulations, GENCI is carrying out extensive communication work, including the organisation of telematic and face-to-face meetings, as well as the continuous sending of information bulletins in the form of legal pills and other notices related to the implications of the new regulations. This communication work is essential to ensure that companies are fully informed and prepared to comply with the registration in the Register of Product Producers and the declaration in the Register of Product Producers of packaging placed on the market in previous years.