Used oil collection in Italy fell 11% in 2020, reflecting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on lubricant consumption, according to the National Consortium for the Management, Collection and Treatment of Used Mineral Oils.
Known as Conou, the group collected 171,000 metric tons of used lubricating oil in 2020, falling from 191,000 tons in 2019. The group said in a news release that the decline in collection volumes was due to the overall decline of about 10% in consumption of new lubricants last year.
The group presented a brief update on 2020 used lubricating oil collection results in a May 25 news release about electing its new president at a Conou assembly meeting.
According to Conou, Italy consumed a total of 369,000 tons of lubricating oil in 2020. Oil consumed in the automotive sector fell by 13%, while industrial oils consumption declined by only 7.5%. The association attributed that to activity by industries that continued to operated without interruption.
The group said that its circular model allowed an economic saving on oil imports of €73 million euros ($86.3 million) in 2020, thanks to the recovery from products such as lubricants and bitumen.
Conou coordinates the activity of 70 private collection companies throughout Italy that collect used lubricants.