# We sell our metal and plastic scrap. Does that reduce our carbon footprint?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/selling-scrap-does-it-cut-my-footprint

No. Selling scrap does not lower your Scope 1 or 2, and under the common cut-off approach the recycler, not you, gets the benefit of recycled material. What it does is keep scrap out of landfill, so your Category 5 waste emissions stay low.

## What changes

- Waste to landfill falls, so Category 5 is smaller.
- Revenue from scrap does not offset fuel or power.

## Avoided emissions

You may describe the recycling separately, but avoided emissions are reported outside your inventory, never subtracted from it.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible keeps each figure tied to its invoice, factor and method version, so a verifier can trace any number back to the document it came from.

- [Recycler avoided emissions claim](https://senseible.earth/answers/plastic-recycler-avoided-emissions-claim)
- [Metal products end of life](https://senseible.earth/answers/metal-products-end-of-life-category-12)

Sources: [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard), [GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-value-chain-scope-3-standard)

Last reviewed 2026-10-22.