6.3.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 58/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 75/439/EEC on the disposal of 
waste oils 
COM(84) 757final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 24 January 1985) 
(85/C 58/04) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Articles 100 and 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Council Directive 75/439/EEC (') provides 
that Member States shall take the necessary measures 
to ensure the safe collection and disposal of waste oils 
and to ensure that, as far as possible, the disposal of 
waste oils is carried out by recycling (regeneration 
and/or combustion other than for destruction); 
Whereas regeneration is the most rational way of re­
using waste oils in view of the energy savings which 
can be achieved; 
Whereas, as a result of the increase in the prices of 
petroleum products, there has been a growing 
tendency to burn waste oils for heating purposes, 
particularly in small plants; 
Whereas the burning of waste oils generates waste 
gases containing harmful substances in both gaseous 
and dust form which in some cases are highly toxic 
and are capable of causing consideral environmental 
pollution; whereas it is therefore necessary to limit 
the risks of environmental pollution caused by the 
burning of waste oils in the Community by means of 
comprehensive, uniform arrangements for such 
combustion; Whereas large quantities of waste oils are at present 
disposed of in an uncontrolled fashion and it is 
therefore necessary to improve the efficiency of waste 
oil collection and to tighten up monitoring in this 
area; 
Whereas it is appropriate to prohibit the burning of 
waste oils in plants with a thermal output of less than 
1 MW which do not lend themselves, for technical 
and economic reasons, to the use of the most efficient 
means of treating gaseous emissions, which are 
operated by unqualified personnel and where the 
controls would involve a technical and administrative 
burden disproportionate to the benefits gained by the 
use of this type of fuel; 
Whereas, in view of the special problems arising in 
connection with synthetic waste oils, particularly 
where regeneration and combustion are concerned, 
this category of oils should be excluded from the 
scope of Directive 75/439/EEC, and should therefore 
be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of 
Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on 
waste (2) or Council Directive 76/403/EEC of 6 April 
1976 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and 
polychlorinated terphenyls (3), as appropriate, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Directive 75/439/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 1 
For the purposes of this Directive: 
1. waste oil means any semi-liquid or liquid used 
product consisting totally or partially of mineral 
(J) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 47. 
(') OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 31. (5) OJ No L 108, 26. 4. 1976, p. 41. 
No C 58/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 3. 85 
oil, including used motor vehicle lubricants 
consisting of mixtures of mineral and synthetic 
oils, oily residues from tanks, oil-water mixtures 
and emulsions; 
2. regeneration means any process whereby base 
oils can be produced by refining waste oils, in 
particular by removing the contaminants, 
oxidations products and additives contained in 
such oils.' 
2. Article 3 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 3 
Member States shall take the necessary measures 
to ensure that, as far as possible, the disposal of 
waste oils is carried out by means of 
regeneration.' 
3. The following point 4 is added to Article 4: 
'4. the combustion of waste oils in plants with 
a thermal output of less than 1 MW.' 
4. Article 5 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
1. Member States shall carry out advertising 
campaigns and provide incentives to ensure that 
waste oils are collected as far as possible. 
2. Where the aims defined in Articles 2, 3 and 
4 cannot otherwise be achieved, Member States 
shall take the necessary measures to ensure that 
one or more undertakings carry out the collection 
and/or disposal of the products offered to them 
by holders, where appropriate in the area 
assigned to them by the competent authorities.' 
5. Article 6 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 6 
1. In order to comply with the measures taken 
pursuant to Article 4, any undertaking which 
collects and/or disposes of waste oils must obtain 
a permit. This permit shall be granted by the 
competent authorities, after examination of the 
installations if necessary. These authorities shall 
impose the conditions required by the state of 
technical development. 
2. Without prejudice to the requirements laid 
down by national and Community provisions 
with a purpose other than that of this Directive, a 
permit as referred to in paragraph 1 may be 
granted to undertakings which burn waste oils, 
whether alone or together with other fuels, only 
where the competent authority has satisfied itself 
that: (a) combustion of waste oils is not incompatible 
with the objective defined in Article 3; 
(b) combustion of waste oils in the plant does not 
entail any danger to public health or any 
significant harm to human beings or the 
environment as a result of pollution; 
(c) all appropriate preventive measures in 
accordance with the state of technical 
development have been taken in order to 
prevent dangerous or harmful effects to 
human beings or the environment, as referred 
to in point (b), as a result of pollution, 
especially in order to reduce emissions of the 
substances referred to in the Annex. These 
measures may concern both the monitoring 
of emissions and fuel monitoring; 
(d) combustion residues arising from such plants 
shall be disposed of without harming the 
environment, in accordance with the 
provisions of Council Directive 78/319/EEC 
of 20 March 1978 on toxic and dangerous 
waste (*); 
(e) examination of the procedures concerning the 
use of waste oils, in particular as regards 
monitoring the concentration of pollutants in 
such oils and in mixtures of oils and liquid 
fuels which are burned, and of the technical 
characteristics of the plant, indicates that the 
emission limit values set out n the Annex have 
not been exceeded; 
(f) emissions from plants in which waste oils are 
burned and/or the composition of such oils 
are determined in accordance with pro­
cedures and using measuring methods and 
equipment approved by the competent auth­
orities in order in particular to monitor 
compliance with the obligations referred in 
point (e); 
(g) the plants in which waste oils are burned are 
fitted with heat recovery equipment. 
(l) OJ No L 84, 31. 3. 1978, p. 43'. 
6. Article 7 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 7 
1. A person holding waste oils must, if he is 
unable to comply with the measures taken 
pursuant to Article 4, place them at the disposal 
of the undertaking or undertakings referred to in 
Article 5. 
2. Exceptions to the prohibition provided for 
in Article 4 (4) may be authorized by the compe­
tent authorities of the Member States provided 
that: 
— the waste oils are burned in special 
combustion equipment the technical charac­
teristics of which have been approved by the 
responsible authorities; 
6.3.85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 58/5 
— only homogeneous waste engine oils are used; 
— combustion is carried out in the commercial 
or industrial establishment in which the waste 
oils were changed and stored; 
— all the conditions laid down in Article 6 (2) 
are satisfied. 
The criteria used in relation to such authori­
zations shall be communicated to the 
Commission.' 
7. Article 8 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 8 
1. Holders of certain quantities of waste oils 
containing impurities in excess of certain per­
centages must handle and store them separately. 
2. The provisions of Directive 78/319/EEC 
and Council Directive 76/403/EEC of 6 April 
1976 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls 
and polychlorinated terphenyls (*) shall apply to 
waste oils containing toxic and dangerous sub­
stances within the meaning of Directive 
78/319/EEC and polychlorinated biphenyls 
and/or polychlorinated terphenyls in excess of 
certain concentrations. 
3. Having consulted the Committee for Adap­
tation to Technical Progress established by 
Article 18 of Directive 78/319/EEC, and in 
accordance with the procedure set out in Article 
19 of that Directive, the Commission shall adopt 
measures aimed at defining the quantities, per­
centages and concentrations referred to in 
paragraphs 1 and 2. 8. Article 11 is replaced by the following: 
Article 11 
The undertakings referred to in Article 9 must 
convey to the competent authorities, at their 
request, any information concerning the 
collection and/or disposal or deposit of waste oils 
or their residues.' 
9. Article 12 is replaced by the following: 
Article 12 
1. The undertakings referred to in Article 6 
shall be inspected periodically by the competent 
authorities, particularly as regards their 
compliance with the conditions of their permits. 
2. The competent authorities -shall examine 
trends in the state of technical development 
and/or of the environment with a view to revising 
where necessary, a permit granted to an under­
taking in accordance with this Directive.' 
10. The following paragraph is added to Article 17: 
'Such measures shall include penalties, particu­
larly for those responsible for the deliberate 
discharge of waste oils into the environment or 
unauthorized combustion of such oils.' 
11. The Annex to this Directive is added. 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive by 1 January 1986 and 
shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the texts of the provisions of national 
law which they adopt in the field governed by this 
Directive. 
Article 3 
(') OJ No L 108, 26. 4. 1976, p. 41.' This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
No C 58/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 3. 85 
ANNEX 
EMISSION LIMIT VALUES (*) 
for certain substances emitted as a result of the combustion waste oils 
(based on a 3 % oxygen content by volume in the waste gases) 
Pollutant 
Dust (total) 
Gd 
Ni 
Pb + Cr + Cu + V 
so2 
ci - (!) 
F-C) Limit value 
50 mg/NmJ 
0,2 mg/Nm3 
1 mg/Nm3 
5 mg/Nm5 
500 mg/Nm5 
100 mg/Nm3 
5 mg/Nm3 
(') The limit values refer to the concentration, in the combustion gas from a plant in which waste oils (alone or 
mixed with other fuels) are burned, of various substances, in terms of mg/m5 of waste gases at standard 
temperature and pressure (273 K, 1 013 bar) after deduction of the water vapour content. 
(2) Inorganic gaseous compounds of chlorine treated as hydrochloric acid. 
(3) Inorganic gaseous compounds of fluorine treated as hydrofluoric acid.