Finlands Ministry of Environment is partnering with used oil collector Lassila & Tikanoja in arranging nationwide waste oil management services under an agreement that goes into effect in 2013.
The five-year agreement signed earlier this month involves the collection of used lubricating oil from customers throughout Finland and then transporting it to be processed for later reuse. According to the announcement, 30,000 metric tons of waste oil is annually generated in the nation.
The nationwide service, provided free of charge, will be expanded at the start of next year to cover small batches of waste oil. Under the agreement, L&T, based in Helsinki, Finland, will collect all waste oil batches exceeding 200 liters from its customers using lubricating oils and deliver them to be processed. Currently, the minimum limit for the free-of-charge service is 400 liters.
L&T will deliver collected oil to be reused or refined into new oil products. We believe that over 90 percent of the material can be reused, mainly in the form of rerefined base oil, said Jorma Mikkonen, L&Ts director of corporate relations and responsibility. The degree of rerefinement will be improved by enhancing the pre-processing of low-quality batches.
L&T will provide collection services for waste oil for which municipalities are responsible, including that generated in housing, agriculture and forestry. The services will be arranged in close cooperation with municipal waste management authorities and waste management companies. Municipal residents can still transport their waste oil to municipal recycling stations or collection trucks.
The company will be responsible for collecting used lubricating oil and transporting it to be processed between Jan. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2017. To ensure sufficient competition, L&T will hold bidding contests for more than half of the collection areas or the amount of waste oil that will be collected.
The company specializes in environmental management and property and plant support services and is a leading supplier of wood-based biofuels, recovered fuels and recycled raw materials. With operations in Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Russia, L&T has 9,100 employees.
Joint venture L&T Recoil Oys rerefinery in Hamina, Finland, has 1,200 b/d of API Group II base oil capacity.
In June 2012, EcoStream Oy acquired L&Ts 50 percent holding in L&T Recoil Oy, giving EcoStream ownership of 100 percent of the joint ventures share capital. At the same time, L&T became a shareholder in EcoStream with a 19.9 percent stake and remains one of the main raw material suppliers for the Hamina rerefinery.