ROSE Foundation announces new CEO

Bubele Nyiba, CEO, ROSE Foundation

The ROSE Foundation is a national non-profit organisation established to promote and encourage the environmentally responsible management of used lubricating oils and related waste in South Africa. Funded by the major manufacturing stakeholders in the lubricants industry, ROSE has successfully promoted the responsible recycling of large volumes of used oil, preventing pollution, and creating widespread employment opportunities.

Bubele Nyiba, who has a long history in the oil industry, having previously worked with Engen Petroleum for 15 years, has a passion for the industry, and is determined to drive greater efficiencies in used oil recycling and to meet the challenges facing the sector.

“The ROSE Foundation has been integral in championing the responsible collection and recycling of used oil to ensure that it does not end up contaminating the environment. The people that ultimately make this possible are the collectors that go out and collect this used oil and the processors who refine it into a reusable product,” says Nyiba.

Role of collectors and processors

“The low levels of the crude oil price has put immense pressure on the collectors as they get very low prices for used oil when the price of crude is low. Financial pressure makes it difficult for collectors to embrace compliance and because of this ROSE assists as much as possible in terms of free training, auditing, protective clothing, insurance, etc. Collectors really have the most difficult position in the used oil supply chain - working extremely hard and under difficult circumstances.”

“The processors also play a vital role as they make it possible for the used oil collectors to make a living by purchasing the used oil. ROSE is also working with the processors to ensure compliance."

With regards to challenges, Nyiba says that the big unknown for all the players in the used oil industry is legislation. “This could have a huge impact on the contributions and the price of virgin oil. The customer takes the knock in the end as the prices of commodities simply go up if taxes increase. This point is often missed when people talk about legislation and its impact. Ultimately, it is the customer that pays for any government levy. The member companies of Responsible Producer Organisations are simply a convenient collection mechanism. It’s also important to point that an industry-managed extended producer responsibility will always be more cost effective than the alternative.”

Eliminating free-riders

“My long-term goal going forward is that I would like to see a ROSE Foundation that is a formidable brand in the waste management sector - when people see used lubricating oil, they must immediately think ROSE. In the short term, I would like to make ROSE as inclusive as possible and I plan to put a lot of energy into working with the majority of oil collectors and processors in the country – this way we can substantially increase the used oil we account for. In addition to this I would like to see ROSE engaging with all lubricant marketers, manufacturers, and importers. The aim is to get all these players to be contributing to the ROSE Foundation. This will eliminate all free-riders along the oil supply value chain.”

“From a ROSE Foundation point of view, we need to be seen to be an independent organisation that looks after the interests of the environment. This will allow all players in the used oil value chain to work together cooperatively for the good of the environment.”

Nyiba joins the other members of the ROSE Foundation board, which is made up of elected industry representatives, including chairman Fabian Magerman, vice-chair Nerusha Govender, Nobleman Kani, Samson Mkhwanazi, Peter Yang, Margaret Stephens and Twanet Boschoff-Van Vuuren.