Regulation on the Management of Waste Oils

The Regulation on the Management of Waste Oils was published in the Official Gazette No. 30985 on 21 December 2019 and entered into force on 1 January 2020 (Article 16). It repealed the 2008 Waste Oils Control Regulation (Article 15). The current text includes two amendments, published in the Official Gazettes of 23 December 2020 (No. 31343) and 12 January 2023 (No. 32071).

What basic rules apply to waste oil management?

Discharging waste oil to soil, sewers, seas or watercourses, mixing it with fuel, using it as fuel, and recovering, burning or disposing of it by unsuitable methods are prohibited (Article 5). Waste oils from different groups are not mixed with each other or with other waste. Waste oil may be collected and transported only by refining facilities that hold collection authorisation from the Ministry and by authorised organisations; collection, transport and processing by unauthorised third parties is prohibited. Importing waste oil is prohibited, vehicles carrying waste oil need a transport licence from the provincial directorate, and sending waste oil to interim waste storage or landfill facilities is also prohibited.

What must waste oil producers do?

Waste oil producers separate waste oils at source by the groups in Annex 1, set up a temporary storage area using barrels or tanks marked "waste oil", and deliver the oil to an authorised organisation or to a refining facility holding collection authorisation. They complete and approve the waste declaration form online by the end of March each year with the previous year's data and keep a copy for five years (Article 8). Businesses that change engine oil must obtain the Annex 3 document from the provincial directorate, register on the Ministry's online programmes and report the oil changes.

What conditions apply to oil producers, authorised organisations and refineries?

Mineral oil producers report the quantities they place on the market, label packaging under Annex 2 and join an authorised organisation (Article 9). Base oil produced from waste oil must be used in mineral oil production at 2% for 2023, 4% for 2024, 6% for 2025 and 8% for 2026; the Ministry sets rates for later years. Authorised organisations must hold a combined market share of at least 10% (Article 10). Refineries obtain an environmental licence for "Waste Oil Refining", an EPDK mineral oil licence and build to standard TS 13541; a trial production is mandatory for the licence (Articles 11-13). If a plant's annual average yield falls 30% below the value in its trial production report, the trial must be repeated within a year, and the licence is cancelled if it is not (Article 13).

Where does waste oil go depending on PCB and chlorine analysis?

The refinery analyses waste oil before acceptance. Oil with PCB up to 20 ppm and chlorine not above 1% is refined; oil with PCB between 20 and 50 ppm is sent to co-incineration plants; oil with PCB above 50 ppm or chlorine above 1% is disposed of at incineration plants (Articles 5 and 12). Oil that cannot be processed because of its PCB content is first brought to a processable level at PCB decontamination facilities. At transfer points, waste oil may be held for at most six months (Article 13/A).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

An industrial plant, workshop or vehicle fleet that generates waste oil must pass it to the licensed collection chain; burning it itself, using it as fuel or giving it to unauthorised parties is prohibited. Residues from refining are recovered or, if that is impossible, treated at co-incineration or incineration plants (Article 12). In this way the economic value of waste oil is recycled as base oil, while PCB-contaminated oil is destroyed under control.

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Breaches are subject to the sanctions in Environment Law No. 2872 (Article 14). For environmental damage caused by waste oil, oil producers, authorised organisations and those engaged in collection, transport, refining and disposal are jointly liable (Article 5). Companies should check the licence of the vehicle carrying waste oil, the scope of the refinery's licence and the annual declaration deadline.