Welcome

At present, a take-back obligation for used oil is in force. This obligation became effective on the first of July 2002 in Wallonia, on the first of January 2003 in Brussels and on the first of January 2004 in Flanders.

All the information on this website with regard to environmental policy agreements, participants, the joining and functioning of the Valorlub system is, till further notice, only valid for the regions Flanders and Wallonia.

What does this take-back obligation involve among others?

• The three regional governments want to apply the principle of the producer’s responsibility to the recycling of used oil. This principle is translated in the regional rules as the “take-back obligation of used oil” for producers and importers of new oil.
• The producer or importer is also obliged to have this used oil processed at his own expense. As the European directive “used oil” states that priority should be given to the regeneration, the government imposes a minimum percentage of recycling to the producers or importers.
  

The take-back obligation has to lead to a maximal collection of used oil and has to stimulate recycling.

However, for those who are submitted to the take-back obligation, it is neither practical nor economical to fulfil this obligation individually. This is why the Belgian Petrol Federation (BPF), the Lubricants Association Belgium (LAB), the Belgian federation of distributors (Fedis) and the Belgian confederation gathering the different groupings of the Belgian automotive sector (Federauto) have taken the initiative to enter into an environmental policy agreement with the three regional governments.

In Wallonia and in Flanders, the environmental policy agreements have been signed and published in the belgian law gazette. (Wallonia : November 22, 2007, in Flanders August 29, 2008)

At the moment, there is no basic agreement with reference to an environmental policy agreement in the region of Brussels. Till further notice, only the Decree of July 18, 2002 concerning the take-back obligation (Belgian law gazette of September 27, 2002) is in force there.

Thanks to these environmental policy agreements, those who are submitted to the take-back obligation will be able to meet their obligations through Valorlub vzw.

In Wallonia and Flanders, sellers of oil will no longer have to take back used oil from their customers. In these regions, private consumers are able to deposit their used oil in container parks for free. For Walloon and Flemish companies that have to dispose of their used oil, nothing has changed. In certain cases, Valorlub will reimburse the costs they have made for the disposal of their used oil.

Producers and importers who bring oil into the market in Wallonia and Flanders, can join Valorlub vzw as from the first of January 2007.

Valorlub will undertake the fulfilment of the take-back obligation. Producers or importers who do not join Valorlub have to submit an individual waste management plan to the different regional governments, in accordance with the regional legislation in force.