Vivo Energy partners with manufacturing industry on safe disposal of used oil
Bamburi Cement, through its waste management division Geocycle, has partnered with Vivo Energy Kenya to collect and safely dispose waste oil from Shell service stations across the country and Vivo Energy’s commercial customers.
Geocycle will employ globally accepted waste management systems by utilizing Bamburi Cement kilns to dispose of waste oil through co-processing. Co-processing offers a superior environment solution due to the high temperatures involved. Additionally, excess oxygen and long residence time completely destroys waste material leaving no residue. The process is considered one of the most environmentally friendly ways of disposing of waste oil.
Waste oil, if not well controlled and managed, can be misused to adulterate fuel or be recycled and sold as contraband lubricants. Such actions have a devastating economic impact to the society and oil marketers.
Shell service stations across Kenya currently collect approximately 20,000 litres of waste oil per month. Coordination of these collections at all service stations is a logistical challenge. The partnership with Geocycle, will make collection easier, due to their efficiency, reliability and accountability in record keeping of all the waste oil collected and safely disposed.
Vivo Energy Kenya’s Managing Director, Joe Muganda, speaking during the event, said: “Environmental protection is a key pillar of sustainability at Vivo Energy. The partnership with Geocycle to ensure waste oil does not find its way back to the environment is a step in the right direction.”
Vivo Energy Kenya has contracted a transporter and trained both the drivers and Geocycle staff operatives on safe handling of waste oil. Vivo Energy Kenya has also supplied Shell service stations with 200 litre drums for storage of waste oil, prior to collection. There will be daily updates on collection done and a monthly report on volumes collected with Geocycle providing disposal certificates to Vivo Energy Kenya.
Speaking during the event to rollout an awareness campaign on safe waste oil disposal at Shell service stations countrywide, Bamburi Cement Managing Director Seddiq Hassani stated that Bamburi is excited about the partnership which contributes to their sustainable development goals. “We hope it will assist in removing all the waste oil in the market, which somehow finds its way back as counterfeit and recycled products, which is harmful to the users and environment,” added Hassani.
Bamburi Cement entered into a broader contract with oil marketers through the Petroleum Institute of East Africa and launched the Safe Waste Oil Disposal initiative (SWOD) which is now fully operational and endorsed by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). The initiative targets all oil marketers, car manufacturers and dealers, big transporters and small garages, and seeks to provide an avenue for safe disposal of waste oil.
“The oil and gas industry has a social responsibility to ensure that hazardous waste is managed safely from “cradle-to-grave” in order to conserve the environment and mitigate against its adverse impacts on health, safety as well as damage to machinery. The positive impacts of safe waste oil disposal have been largely realized following our partnership with Geocycle (Bamburi) in the last two years through the SWOD initiative mainly in Nairobi”, said Ayuma Vivienne, Business Analyst at Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA).
As part of the deal, Geocycle does collection and safe disposal of the waste oil, while PIEA, through its members, pays for the logistics to carry out the exercise effectively. “Bamburi is looking at more partnerships in disposal of various types of waste – from industrial, agricultural and pharmaceutical waste -as we work to contribute to environmental conservation as part of our sustainability ambitions,” said Mr. Hassani.
