Collection, deposit and reception of oily and greasy waste generated from the operation of the vessel
Part A of the Implementing Regulation deals with oily and greasy waste generated from vessel operation.
It especially concerns waste to be found in the engine room:
- used-oil,
- bilge water,
- grease,
- oily rags,
- used filters, etc.
The quantities produced vary according to vessel type, its activity and equipment. The unloading frequency of this waste is therefore variable, but all vessels inevitably have to unload this waste at regular intervals.
Method applied
Each State entrusts the organisation of collection to a national institution (NI). The latter is responsible for setting up a sufficiently dense reception stations network to provide the inland navigation sector with the disposal facilities it needs.
Depending on the situation, these may be:
- separator vessels that tie up while the vessel is stationary or underway,
- static stations,
- tank trucks,
On very busy inland navigation waterways, this network is denser than in sectors with little traffic. In certain cases waste may be deposited upon request in a collection station that is not specifically intended for inland navigation, with, for example, the use of a commercial vehicle. The competent national institution needs to be consulted on this matter.
Depositing is based on certain rules. You cannot simply deposit any bilge water or used oil, or any volume of waste. The basic rule is that these must be products “arising from the normal activity of the business”. That means, for example, that a volume of waste generated following an accident cannot be accepted just like that. Waste comprising chemical products also cannot be eligible for deposit free of charge because of the very substantial cost premium that their processing will involve as compared with bilge water “arising from normal activity”. Where appropriate, polluted bilge water will be defined as coming under other special non-oily waste with the depositing of this water incurring a charge.
Financing and responsibility
The reception, collection and disposal infrastructure is financed on the “polluter-pays” principle. In this case the polluter, or, to be more accurate, the potential polluter, is the inland navigation waterway user. Waste disposal is financed by a disposal charge paid by the vessel operator during bunkering. Indirect financing in the form of payment linked to the supply of gasoil and GTL discourages any inappropriate disposal and is accepted by the profession.
The disposal charge is applied uniformly in all States and to all vessels. When the CDNI was signed in 1996, the Contracting States agreed on a disposal charge of €7.50 per 1000 litres of zero-rated bunkered gasoil. This amount was first increased in 2021 (€8.50) and amounts to €10,00 in 2024. Paying it confers entitlement to deposit waste free of charge.
Tools
An electronic payment system (SPE-CDNI) was introduced in 2011 for the collection of the disposal charge for oily and greasy waste.
Payment of this charge requires the opening of an ECO account which is the key to accessing the SPE-CDNI.
- Each vessel operating within the CDNI’s jurisdiction is required to open an ECO account with the NI of its choice.
- The vessel’s operator or owner pays into his ECO account from which the disposal charges will be collected.
- The ECO-ID, linked to the ECO account, enables boatmasters to pay the disposal charge when bunkering.
The ECO-ID enables oily and greasy waste generated from vessel operation to be deposited, at no additional cost, with the specified reception stations within the ambit of the Convention.
The revenues (disposal charges) and expenditures (disposal costs) are transferred to an international level within an international financial clearance system.
This redistribution mechanism ensures a balanced sharing within the six Contracting States of the costs associated with the collection and disposal of oily and greasy waste generated from vessel operation. Otherwise expressed, the States which have high revenues and low costs repay those States which have high costs and low revenues.