GEIR

GEIR - Groupement Européen de l'Industrie de la Régénération
European Re-refining Industry section of UEIL

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Used mineral lubricating oils represent the largest amount of liquid, non-aqueous hazardous waste in the world. GEIR member companies are active throughout Europe in supporting the collection of used oils and re-refining these back to valuable lubricant base oils.

GEIR (Groupement Européen de l'Industrie de la Régénération), the European Re-refining Industry Section of UEIL is located in Brussels. GEIR has its office in Brussels from where it can easily communicate and exchange information with the European official bodies (Commission, Council and Parliament).

GEIR, the European Re-refining Industry Section, welcomed the final adoption of the Revised Waste Framework Directive as published in the European Official Journal on 22 November 2008 (directive 2008/98/EC of the EU Parliament and of the Council on waste and repealing certain Directives).
In 2005, the European Commission proposed to repeal the EU Waste Oils Directive, which would have not only undermined the short term economics of oil recycling but also the long term viability of this small but globally leading European industry. The Re- Refining Industry therefore led an active European public affairs campaign to ensure that business interests are preserved and that the prerogatives of the repealed Waste Oils Directive remain alive in spirit in the revised legislation. The campaign led to the legal certainty necessary to support the ongoing development of Waste Oils Re- refining, with in particular:

• A reference, in the revised Waste Directive, to a 5-step waste hierarchy (called "priority order”) favouring recycling over other methods of waste treatment
• A specific mention to the need to follow the priority order for the management of waste oils and to their separate collection, ensuring that the spirit of the revised Directive is favourable to the industry across Europe and that waste oils regeneration remains a suitable option
• A perception that GEIR is a credible and knowledgeable European stakeholder, maximising its legitimacy to reach out to EU stakeholders on other policy issues if necessary (REACH, etc.)

At the adoption of the Final Waste Framework Directive, Fabio Dalla Giovanna, GEIR President, said: “Reaffirming the importance of oil recycling in EU law was vital to our industry’s future and we made it thanks to a professionally led public affairs campaign- this result was unthinkable three years ago. Today the priority order for waste oil recycling has been re-established, without any constraint such as was imposed in the Directive 75/439/EEC, strengthening the concept of recycling above combustion”. All 27 Member States of the European Union will have to transpose the revised Waste Directive by 12 December 2010.  

Objective
It is of primary importance that one meets the actual needs in human activity by using the necessary resources and raw materials, without compromising the reserves in the long term, the needs of future generations and the quality of the environment.

The re-refining industry is entirely integrating this philosophy of sustainable development in its daily business: to save valuable raw material by reprocessing used products and turning it into a secondary raw material for the lubricants market, the quality of which can be compared to that of virgin base oils.
GEIR defends the interests of the re-refining industry and promotes a sound exchange of information on quantities of waste oils produced and types of renewed products offered by its member companies.For this reason, permanent contacts are maintained with the European official bodies as well as with all private and public organisations that are showing interest in the very actual and crucial issue of the waste oil.  

Steering Committee
Detlev Bruhnke, President
Fabio Dalla Giovanna, Honorary President
Dimitrios Kontaxis, Vice-President
Tommi Järvinen, Vice-President

For more information about GEIR, send an email to: info_at_geir-rerefining.org

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