# How does a PET recycler count the transport of bottle bales it buys?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/pet-recycler-bale-transport-scope-3

If you pay for the transport, it is Scope 3, category 4. Multiply tonnes of bales by distance and by a freight intensity, or use the trucker's fuel. If the bale seller delivers and charges one price, the transport sits in their figure, not a separate line.

## Steps

Tonnes delivered and kilometres per trip, from weighbridge slips and trip sheets.

Tonne-km x a GLEC or national intensity for the truck size, or litres of diesel x 2.68.

Report as Scope 3, category 4.

## In the flake figure

Inbound transport is part of the burden recycled flakes carry under the recycled-content method, so include it when a buyer asks for a figure per kg.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the energy invoices behind the making stage into a fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record, and keeps material invoices on the Scope 3 trail. Material factors come from your supplier or a named database and are labelled with their source, so the product figure can be traced line by line.

- [rPET flakes per kg](https://senseible.earth/answers/pet-bottle-recycling-flakes-carbon-per-kg)
- [rPET buyer claims](https://senseible.earth/answers/rpet-flake-buyer-recycled-content-claim)
- [Recycled plastic granules](https://senseible.earth/answers/recycled-plastic-granules-carbon-per-kg)

Sources: [Smart Freight Centre, GLEC Framework](https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/en/our-programs/emissions-accounting/global-logistics-emissions-council/), [GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-21.