Which Scope 3 category holds recycling: the material I buy with recycled content, the waste I send for recycling, or the recyclable products I sell?
Three circumstances, three categories. Buying material with recycled content sits in Category 1 or 2, waste you send for recycling in Category 5, and recyclable products you sell in Category 12. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol recommends the recycled content method, which gives the recycling process to the company that uses the recycled material.
The three circumstances
- A. You buy a material with recycled content: Category 1, purchased goods and services, or Category 2, capital goods. The recycling process is already inside the cradle-to-gate factor for that material.
- B. Your operations generate waste that is sent for recycling: Category 5, waste generated in operations.
- C. You sell products with recyclable content: Category 12, end-of-life treatment of sold products.
The recycled content method
To stop the same recycling process being counted by two companies, the guide recommends the recycled content method, which allocates the emissions to the company that uses the recycled material, reported as Category 1. The guide calls it easy to use and generally consistent with the secondary factors available for recycled inputs.
If you are unsure which processes are allocated to the recycled material, the guide says to look at what the cradle-to-gate factor for that input includes. Any process not in that factor, but applicable to your supply chain, should go in Category 5 or Category 12 because they have not been allocated to the recycled material.
The closed loop approximation
The guide says other methods may be used where they fit a material better. Its example is the closed loop approximation, which may suit a recycled output with the same inherent properties as the virgin input in the same supply chain. If it is uncertain which method is right, or the supply chain is complex, the guide says the recycled content method is the recommended choice.
What stays out of the total
- Claims of negative or avoided emissions from recycling should not be included in, or deducted from, your Scope 3 inventory. They may be reported separately from Scope 1, 2 and 3, with the data, method and boundary behind them.
- The guide suggests, for recycling, reporting separately the recycling emissions relative to producing the equivalent virgin material. That figure is often negative, and if reported it must be kept apart from the inventory.
The guide's plastic components example in Category 5
- Plastic to landfill: 2,000 tonnes x 40 = 80,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
- Plastic incinerated with energy recovery: 5,000 x 2 = 10,000 kilograms CO2e
- Plastic recycled: 4,000 x 10 = 40,000 kilograms CO2e
- Wastewater: 5,000 cubic metres x 0.5 = 2,500 kilograms CO2e
- Total: 80,000 + 10,000 + 40,000 + 2,500 = 132,500 kilograms CO2e
- Recycled plastic is 4,000 of 11,000 tonnes of plastic but 40,000 of 132,500 kilograms, about 30 percent
The guide's notes say the factor of 2 includes preparation and transport not allocated to the energy produced, and the factor of 10 includes material recovery not allocated to the recycled material. The factor of 10 is the guide's example of material recovery that was not allocated to the recycled material, so it is not zero here. Values are the guide's example numbers, not factors to use.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, which covers your own Scope 1 and 2. It does not decide which category a recycling stream falls in; use the three circumstances above.
- Scrap you sell for recycling
- Counting recycled content in a product footprint
- Metal products at end of life, Category 12
- Avoided emissions from recycled plastic
- Category 5 with only disposal shares
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. The category split is the guide's Table 5.1. Check whether your recycled-input factor includes material recovery before deciding what stays in Category 5 or 12.