WAYNE, N.J. — On April 11, global lubricant brand Castrol announced plans to launch Castrol MoreCircular, which the company says is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of business lubricants in the U.S., during the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Las Vegas in May.
The program, created in collaboration with Safety-Kleen, a subsidiary of Clean Harbors Inc., encompasses the entire process of collecting used oil from business customers, re-refining it and integrating re-refined base oil into premium lubricants for supply to businesses. Safety-Kleen and Castrol have signed a multiyear collaboration agreement; financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
According to a statement released by Castrol, the initiative is a result of “significant investment in research and development aimed at integrating re-refined base oils into lubricant formulations while ensuring that the new product range continues to meet or exceed the latest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and industry standards.”
The announcement comes after “successful trials with a number of Castrol business customers demonstrated the high-quality, high-performance attributes of these lower carbon footprint lubricants, which showed the same performance as the version containing virgin base oil” the statement notes.
“Our ability to collect used oil from across the country and reprocess a waste product means that much of it can be used again and again. Delivering these lower-carbon-footprint lubricants can help our business customers meet their sustainability goals with the same high-quality and high performance they expect from Castrol,” said Andreas Osbar, CEO of Castrol Americas.
“We believe the time is right to lead the market with an integrated, more circular — and as a result, lower-carbon-footprint — offer as our business customers are searching for levers to help de-carbonize their operations,” Osbar continued. “This is a first-of-its-kind, nationwide offer in the US, and we’re excited to partner with Safety-Kleen to deliver it.”
The end-to-end offer begins with the collection of used lubricants from Castrol MoreCircular customers, such as fleet maintenance shops and industrial sites. The used oil is then reprocessed, enabling about 70% of the used product to be recovered as base oil, Castrol claims. The re-refined base oil is then blended into what Castrol describes as premium lubricants. The company estimates the reprocessed product will result in a 20% to 40% lower carbon footprint compared to Castrol’s traditional products. Re-refined base oil makes up at least 65% of the base oil in each MoreCircular lubricant; the size of the carbon footprint reduction depends partly on the percentage of RRBO used. When participating business customers purchase these lubricants, they help develop a more circular lubricants industry in the U.S.
Of the more than one billion gallons of used oil generated annually in the United States, only around 20%2 are currently re-refined back to base oils. With the launch of ‘MoreCircular,’ Castrol is moving towards embracing circularity – a key principle of Castrol’s PATH360 sustainability strategy.
“Safety-Kleen is proud to partner with Castrol, a recognized industry leader, to help bring increased circularity to the United States lubricants industry,” said Brian Weber, president of Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions. “We are North America’s largest collector of used oil with more than 200 branch locations that safely and compliantly collect more than 250 million gallons annually. Our operations span every major metropolitan area in the U.S., and we can meet the waste oil collection needs of any Castrol customer’s MoreCircular offering.”
Born and raised in Little Rock, AR, Erica N. Guy decided to stay in her hometown to begin her professional career in journalism. Since obtaining her bachelor’s degree from UAPB, Erica has professionally written for several publications about several topics ranging from lifestyle, tech, culture, and entertainment, just to name a few. Continuing her love for her hometown, she joined our team in June 2023, where she is currently a staff writer. Her career goals include continuing storytelling through her writing by being the best professional writer she can be. In her spare time, Erica enjoys trying new foods, cozying up with a good book, spending time with family and friends, and establishing herself as a future businesswoman.
