Used oil collection in Italy nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels during the three months ended in August, according to the National Consortium for the Management, Collection and Treatment of Used Mineral Oils. Known as Conou, the group collected 2% less volume of used lubricating oil during that period, compared to a year earlier.
Conou coordinates the activity of 65 private collection companies throughout Italy that collect used lubricants. It presented a report on trends in collecting used lubricating oil in September at Circonomia, a circular economy and energy event in Alba, Italy.
Conou companies collected 43,475 metric tons of used lubricating oil during June-August of this year, down 2% from 44,276 tons in the same quarter in 2019.
The group said collection continued with normal timeliness and efficiency despite difficulties caused by the pandemic. “An inevitable downturn in collection was registered in Italy, justified by the overall performance of the market,” Conou stated in a news release.
According to Conou, current estimates predict a reduction of around 10% for the full year, compared to 2019, when the consortium collected 191,000 tons of used lubricating oils. Volumes for the first half of September were up 3%, year to year.