German Avista Oil planning to install equipment for pre-treatment of waste oils and build new storage facilities in Serbia in 2020

Avista Oil A.G, headquartered in Lower Saxony, has been recycling waste mineral and synthetic oils for 68 years now. This renowned company, which is also the largest collector of waste mineral and synthetic oils in the world, expanded its operations to Serbia in late 2018.

According to Nebojsa Malesevic, the director of Avista Oil doo Belgrade, the German company picked the country primarily due to its potential and the expected economic growth in the upcoming years, but also for its central position in the region.

– Furthermore, establishing a system for the management of waste oils in a country like Serbia, where such a system is practically non-existent, is a challenge for us, and we love challenges. We are ready to invest all our knowledge and experience and we have no doubt that we will succeed. It's only a matter of time – Malesevic told eKapija.

He reminds that Serbia practically has no recycling of waste oils in line with the law and the BAT (best available techniques) and says that there will not be any in a foreseeable time, considering the amount of necessary investments and the available quantities of waste oils.

– Around 50 to 55 thousand tons of lubricants is imported to Serbia annually. Between 50 and 55% of it can be collected, but less than 1,000 tons is collected in Serbia – our interviewee says.

– That is why, for now, the only solution is to export, in the sense of complying with the hierarchy of waste management and the principles of sustainable development and circular economy, which is one of the main principles in the EU and the world today. We shouldn't forget that the Serbia's aim in the upcoming period is to join the EU, to which environmental protection is one of the most important, if not the most important question – he adds.

When asked how Serbia could raise the level of waste oil treatment, Malesevic points out that this is a considerable investment, which entails an active role of the state, primarily in creating a favorable environment and establishing a clear regulatory framework, as well as insisting on its implementation.

– The basic prerequisite for establishing a waste oil management system is to change the national regulations, adapt them to the EU regulations, as well as the BAT defined by the law. By that, I primarily mean the Law on Waste Management, the Regulation on Waste Oil Management and the Decree on the Allocation of Incentives, which are obsolete and thoroughly discouraging when it comes to waste oil – he says.

Even more egregious is the Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods, which defines certain types of waste as a public good, which he finds incredible.

Branislava Petrovic

Avista Oil d.o.o. Beograd

Avista Oil

Nebojša Malešević

waste oils

lubricants

engine oils

waste oil processing

waste oil refineries

Law on Waste Management

Regulation on Waste Oil Management

Decree on the Allocation of Incentives

Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods