Effective waste management should be a key part of the lifecycle of a lubricant that includes recycling used oil and disposing of packaging. The problem of what to do with the detritus of lubricants is keenly felt in developing markets, such as those in Africa, and not least in Rwanda.

The landlocked East African nation imported 3.4 million liters of lubricating oils in 2018, a fall from the nearly 4 million liters in 2017. But this drop has not reduced the need for waste packaging management in a country that lacks the legislative framework or infrastructure for recycling.

Although no precise data is available on the annual rise in Rwandas lubricant packaging, imports in 2018 alone translate into potentially hundreds of thousands of lubricant packs, mostly manufactured from non-biodegradable high-density polyethylene. Lubricant packing in the Rwandan market ranges from 20 liter drums down to small 1 liter packages.

The Rwandan government confirms there is an increasing problem of solid waste management in general, especially in and around the countrys capital Kigali, where a large share of automotive workshops, gas stations and lubricant retail outlets are found.

Rwanda is facing significant challenges in relation to solid waste management, said a statement by Rwandas Ministry of Infrastructure. Waste generation is increasing, while a sizeable portion of it is disposed of on improperly located and operated dumpsites, resulting in adverse impacts on environment and health.

The government attributes the failure to effectively recover, reuse and recycle waste to a backlog in waste legislation enforcement as well as in coordination and promotion of existing efforts to recycle and dispose waste properly.

Imported Packaging

Rwanda relies almost entirely on imported lubricants distributed by some 40 oil marketing companies, of which 20 are small independents, for its various economic sectors, such as transport, power generation and industrial and mining operations. Imports were mainly from the United Arab Emirates and India, where one of Rwandas leading international oil marketing companies Shell operates as Shell U.A.E. and Shell India. More than 93 percent of lubricant imports pass through the port at Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the remaining via the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya, according to Rwandas National Institute of Statistics.

Lubricant imports into Rwanda peaked in April 2018 reaching 461,394 liters, up from the 382,683 liters in March. They declined to 356,796 liters in May, a trend that continued until October when they reached 392,302 liters.

With no domestic lubricant blending or packaging capacity, Rwanda, which produces around U.S. $52 million worth of chemicals, rubber and plastics per year, has to dispose of imported waste packaging. A large share of waste packaging is discarded at Rwandan automotive garages, petrol stations, stopping points for public and private vehicles, railroads, construction sites and manufacturing plants mostly in the capital city Kigali. None of these points has formal waste packaging or used oil collection. Waste then ends up among the 100 metric tons per day collected at the Nduba landfill located in Nyanza, a southern suburb of the capital.

Currently, solid waste is dumped at the Nduba dumping site as a short-term solution while the city of Kigali plans a comprehensive smart waste management system, said Fred Mugisha, head of urban planning and construction for Kigalis city authorities, during a recent media interview. There are plans to recycle and transform solid waste into other useful products, such as energy, he added.

There is no data showing how much of this solid waste is lubricant packaging, but despite slow progress in investing in recycling ventures, Rwandas Bureau of Standards has approved the global ISO 15270:2008 standard guideline in tackling mounting plastic waste.

Without incentives and waste separation systems at the generation level, its hard to attract investment in the recycling sector, said Paulin Buregeya in an interview with local media. Buregeya is the founder of garbage collection and transportation firm Coped Ltd. What this means is that the city will need to keep expanding or creating landfills, creating a serious waste crisis, he said.

Nevertheless, a group of multinational companies that took part in this years CEO Africa Forum in March in Kigali launched the Africa Plastic Recycling Alliance to support African governments efforts to tackle plastics waste.

A statement issued by the alliances secretariat at the launch mirrored Rwandas position, as explained by the Ministry of Infrastructure, when it said in the region there is lack of collection and recycling capacity of plastics despite an increasing population, which in Rwanda has reached 10 million.

It is not yet clear which of Rwandas leading oil marketers has joined the alliance, although they have little control over their lubricant products once they are distributed.

Shell, which markets its branded engine oils and lubricants in Rwanda through Vivo Energy, admits that waste plastic packaging is mounting, but in its annual sustainability report essentially lays responsibility at the feet of end users. The problem is not with plastics themselves but what happens after people use them, it said.

However, Shell has joined other multinationals and environmental agencies in the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, an initiative that brings together international companies such as chemicals and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies and waste management companies, along with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, according to the alliance website.

Market Landscape

When contacted, no oil marketing company would confirm what share they have of Rwandas lubricants market. But Vivo Energy reported recently that it has 20 percent, mostly via a network of about 20 service stations across the country. Vivo, which acquired Engen Petroleums Rwandan entity in June 2018, markets lubricants that are sourced, blended, packaged and supplied in a 50-50 joint venture with Shell.

Mount Meru Group, which is also active in Uganda, reported it has 30 percent of Rwandas downstream petroleum market. Other players include Lake Petroleum Rwanda Ltd., BP Plc, Societe Petroliere Ltd., Merez Petroleum, Rwanda Energy Group Ltd. and Energy Resources Petroleum.

With 75 percent of Rwandas petroleum products being consumed by the transport sector, the increase in the number of registered vehicles to more than 92,000 in 2017 from 86,758 in 2016, excluding two-wheelers, could remain the key driver of the countrys lubricants market.

Furthermore, previous successful mergers and acquisitions among Rwandan downstream petroleum companies has led to realignment of market players strategy in the country, with SP Rwanda, for example, announcing plans to open a lubricant plant to efficiently satisfy the local demand. SP Rwanda is already partnered with Rymax from the Netherlands to market various engine, industrial and specialty oils. Earlier, Lake Petroleum Rwanda Ltd. acquired Gapco Rwanda Ltd. None of this, however, goes to address the issue of waste.

No Rubbish Outlook

Rwandas economy grew by an estimated 7.2 percent in 2018, up from 6.1 percent in 2017, according to the African Development Bank. Key lubricant-consuming sectors such as transport and manufacturing will grow in tandem. Demand for petroleum products, including lubricants, is expected to rise at a rate of 10 percent until 2020, according to projections by SP Rwanda. This growth will not only increase the amount of waste lubricant containers, but could also change market dynamics for the country, as more players are likely to compete for a share of the market.

Reducing plastic waste is the issue of the age, and rightly so. Millions of tons of plastics find their way into the environment, and the damage they cause is incalculable. The anticipated increase in lubricants imports means marketers and distributors have to team up with the government and associated industries to effectively tackle the coming surge in discarded waste packages.