Unloading of petrol into storage at service stations and regulation of the storage of petrol and dispensing of petrol in order to reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by recovering the vapour.

The Petrol Vapour Recovery Stage I (PVRI) Directive aims at minimising VOC emissions from the storage of petrol at petrol stations, from loading and unloading at petrol stations. There are limited exclusions from the scope of the directive, mainly related to the size of the petrol station.

The Petrol Vapour Recovery Stage II (PVRII) Directive just deals with VOC emissions from refuelling – filling vehicles with petrol. It has effect from 1 January 2012. However, in England vapour recovery for refuelling operations at larger petrol stations with an annual petrol throughput of 3,500 cubic metres (m3)/3.5 million litres is already a requirement.