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SIGAUS, the EPRS with the lowest rate among European countries
The analysis of the Extended Producer Responsibility Systems (EPR) for industrial waste oils operating in different European countries reveals that SIGAUS is the EPR system with the lowest rate in Europe among comparable models. The Spanish company has decided to reduce the contribution made by companies that are part of the system from 60 to 50 euros per tonne as of 1 January 2024. With this reduction in the contribution, SIGAUS, together with its Board of Directors, aims to help companies and consumers mitigate the effects of rising inflation.
06-11-2023
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The industrial oils sector is subject to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a concept that holds manufacturers and importers of lubricating oils responsible for financing the management of waste generated by their products through individual or collective systems (EPRS).
In Europe there are various EPR models in the area of waste oils, with different characteristics (such as operations that are financed or the role played by EPRS in waste management) involving different contributions from manufacturers and retailers of industrial oils, which are always linked to the volume put on the market.
In the case of Spain, SIGAUS has been responsible for the efficient management of this manufacturer responsibility for almost 17 years. This EPRS has always sought to maintain a balance between the contributions of the participating companies and the financing necessary to guarantee the free collection and management of waste oil throughout Spain, regardless of where it is generated.
A comparative analysis of the different EPR waste oil systems operating in Europe points to SIGAUS as the system with the lowest rate among European countries with comparable systems in terms of service level, such as Italy and France. All three systems guarantee free collection for waste generators and finance any deficits along the entire waste management chain, from collection to final treatment, while respecting the free market between waste management operators.
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Thanks to its focus on efficiency, SIGAUS has the lowest rate compared to other similar Extended Producer Responsibility systems in Europe.
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SIGAUS, with a historic contribution of 60 €/t (which will become 50 €/t from 2024) requires a much lower contribution compared to both more established and consolidated systems, such as the Italian system (which currently requires 70 €/t and has had a rate of over 100 €/t for the last five years) and more recently implemented systems, such as the French system, which has been in operation for only two years and whose contribution is 89 €/t.
In the case of Portugal, such free collection is guaranteed, but with an interesting feature: the EPRS retains ownership of the waste and acts as an intermediary between the collection and final treatment operators, and therefore only finances the collection and pre-treatment, but purchases the pre-treated oil to sell it to the final management facilities. Sogilub’s contribution has recently decreased, although in recent years it had been significantly higher than SIGAUS’ contribution, double the €60/t of the Spanish company in the worst moments of the pandemic.
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In other countries, such as Belgium or Greece, the rates are much lower, but their systems are also very different from Spain’s, as they do not guarantee free collection and do not finance waste management operations. The Belgian model is based on financing small collectors and waste managers solely for the provision of information. As for Greece, the system only finances 8 intermediary storage and analysis centres, which, in addition to verifying the quality of the waste collected, provide the information necessary to trace its management.
Despite already having the lowest rate compared to its European counterparts with the same EPR model, SIGAUS has announced a further reduction from 60 to 50 euros per tonne as of 1 January 2024 for companies that put lubricating oils on the market, reinforcing its commitment to efficiency.
GENCI: efficiency in packaging waste management
This same commitment to efficiency has been extended to GENCI, the EPRS created for managing commercial and industrial packaging waste, where EPR will be mandatory from 2025. In fact, the adjustment of costs in GENCI is one of its main competitive strengths, to a great extent taking advantage of the existing synergies with SIGAUS in terms of administrative organisation, technological deployments and the logistics network, making it possible, for example, to not require a prior registration fee.