How do we estimate a disposal route we don't observe directly?

Use the waste-type data entry option to select the disposal route typical for your product category and market (for example, general landfill versus recycling rates for that material in that country), and document the assumption.

What's the difference between this and our own operational waste (Category 5)?

Category 5 covers waste your organisation generates in its own operations. This page covers waste generated later, by customers disposing of products you sold - a downstream, Category 12 boundary.

Do returned or unsold products belong here?

Not unless they're subsequently disposed of rather than resold or reused. Unsold stock that's scrapped internally is closer to your own operational waste; sold products disposed of by the customer are Category 12.

Should packaging that ships with the product be included?

Yes, if it's disposed of alongside the product at end of life - include it by material and weight the same way as the product itself, or track it on the 'Packaging' purchased-goods page if you're measuring it separately at the point of sale.

How does this relate to producer responsibility (e.g. WEEE/EPR) reporting?

Producer responsibility schemes often already estimate disposal volumes for regulatory purposes - use those figures as your basis here rather than building a separate estimate that might disagree with your regulatory filing.

Activity data·Sold products

How to measure emissions from End of life of sold products

End of life of sold products covers the disposal-stage emissions from products you've sold, once customers dispose of them - landfill, recycling or incineration - reported under Scope 3 Category 12 by material weight and waste type. Because disposal is rarely observed directly, this is usually modelled from product composition and an assumed disposal route for the market sold into, documented alongside the figure.

Scope: Scope 3 Category 12
What activity data you need: Bin: 1100 litre, tonne
Activity data: Sold products

What counts as End of life of sold products

Waste treatment and disposal emissions from products the organisation has sold, once those products reach the end of their useful life with the customer. Covers the disposal route - landfill, recycling, incineration - and material composition of the product, recorded as tonnage or waste-container volume by waste type.

Category 12, distinct from Category 5 (waste generated in the organisation's own operations) and from Category 11 'Use of sold products' (energy consumed while a product is in use, which precedes end of life). Because the organisation rarely observes disposal directly, this is typically modelled from product composition and an expected disposal-route assumption rather than tracked per unit sold - document that assumption set alongside the activity data so it can be reviewed and updated.

How to collect the data

Start from a bill of materials or product composition data (weight by material - metal, plastic, board, aluminium and so on), combined with a waste-type data entry option reflecting the expected disposal route for the market the product is sold into (landfill, recycling, combustion). Where a producer responsibility scheme (such as WEEE) already estimates disposal volumes for you, reconcile against those figures rather than estimating twice from scratch.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

Bin: 1100 litre
tonne

Which emission scope it falls under

End of life of sold products activity data typically maps to Scope 3 Category 12 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Scope 3 Category 12

By emission scope

Scope 3 Category 12

Compliance frameworks

Compliance & reporting frameworks

Sub-types available in the platform

All 5 sub-types available in the platform.

Commercial and industrial waste
Municipal waste
Waste: Aluminium cans and foil
Waste: Board only
Waste: Mixed board and paper

Data entry options

waste type
Select waste type when entering end of life of sold products activity data in the platform.

Full list of data entry options

Common questions

How do we estimate a disposal route we don't observe directly?: Use the waste-type data entry option to select the disposal route typical for your product category and market (for example, general landfill versus recycling rates for that material in that country), and document the assumption.
What's the difference between this and our own operational waste (Category 5)?: Category 5 covers waste your organisation generates in its own operations. This page covers waste generated later, by customers disposing of products you sold - a downstream, Category 12 boundary.
Do returned or unsold products belong here?: Not unless they're subsequently disposed of rather than resold or reused. Unsold stock that's scrapped internally is closer to your own operational waste; sold products disposed of by the customer are Category 12.
Should packaging that ships with the product be included?: Yes, if it's disposed of alongside the product at end of life - include it by material and weight the same way as the product itself, or track it on the 'Packaging' purchased-goods page if you're measuring it separately at the point of sale.
How does this relate to producer responsibility (e.g. WEEE/EPR) reporting?: Producer responsibility schemes often already estimate disposal volumes for regulatory purposes - use those figures as your basis here rather than building a separate estimate that might disagree with your regulatory filing.

Next step

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