Purpose and scope
Reports support operational record keeping and transparent discussion of potential environmental benefits from the recorded material flows. They are not a complete product life-cycle assessment, independently assured corporate greenhouse-gas inventory, carbon credit, offset, certification, or evidence that an organisation or product is carbon neutral. Reported activities, measured weights and modelled avoided emissions are different kinds of information.
Operational data and average weights
Sources include customer collection records, driver records, depot-confirmed bumper counts, bag scale weights, processing records and operator reconciliations. A count multiplied by an average bumper weight is an average-based calculation, not a scale measurement. The weight factor used is stored with each reuse reconciliation. The initial configured average is 4.5 kg per bumper; actual bumper weights vary.
Recycling
Recycling calculations use recorded output and the factor, factor year and calculation basis shown on the relevant material passport or report. Where applicable, the source is the UK Government DESNZ greenhouse-gas conversion-factor dataset for polypropylene production and closed-loop recycling. Weighed bag output can be allocated to customers using average source contributions. Verification of a weight does not independently verify the avoided-emissions calculation or establish an individually measured collection yield. Reuse uses a separate method and must not be added as another recycling credit for the same material.
UK Government greenhouse-gas conversion factors
Reuse research and provisional benchmark
The reference is the VRA/Oakdene Hollins August 2024 Repair, Reuse or Replace study and Allianz Center for Technology’s 2025 summary, Figure 10, page 12. The UK main scenario for a VW ID.3 front bumper compares 53.2 kg CO₂e for replacement with a new European-manufactured part and 40.8 kg CO₂e for replacement with a used part: a difference of 12.4 kg CO₂e per bumper. This is a single-model research benchmark, not a fleet-wide measured average or CAROS-specific assessment. Applying it to mixed front and rear bumper covers is a provisional proxy. It must not be applied to complete bumper assemblies, lights or other parts without a suitable method.
Original VRA / Oakdene Hollins study, August 2024 · Allianz 2025 summary, Figure 10
Formula and limitations
Potential CO₂e saving = allocated reuse weight ÷ recorded average kg per bumper × 12.4 kg CO₂e per bumper. Use the actual eligible bumper count where established in an appropriate revised methodology. The proxy assumes each bumper is successfully reused instead of a new replacement. Export, sale or removal from a queue alone does not prove installation, displacement of new production or an achieved emissions reduction.
The study includes its own assumptions for preparation, logistics, repairs, painting and waste treatment. Actual CAROS export distances, loading, destination energy mix, repair intensity, rejected parts and eventual reuse are not measured by this calculation. The result may overstate or understate actual benefits. No statistically supported uncertainty range is available for applying this proxy to CAROS’s mixed exports. The report must say “Potential CO₂e savings from reuse”, not “verified savings”. No additional transport deduction is represented as having been measured.
Shared monthly material pools
From each depot’s recorded cut-off, customer reporting uses circular-pool-v1. A customer’s share is their opening retained stock plus new received bumper-material weight, divided by the same total for the whole depot pool. The same share applies to weighed recycled output, operator-declared exported reuse, recorded waste, retained stock and unexplained differences. Percentages are weight-based allocated outcomes, not individually measured customer yields or item-count percentages.
Warehouse supervisors preview the pool, record waste and closing-stock evidence, and publish after month end. Each month has its own permanent snapshot. Source receipts, processing batches and reuse events cannot be reported twice. Only retained stock enters the following pool. Missing weight is shown as an unexplained difference and receives no savings. Waste receives no avoided-carbon credit in this calculation.
New customer dashboards and generated CO₂ reports use the published monthly allocations. Open months remain pending. Historical recycling remains on its original basis, and the historical stock reconciliation has no reuse savings claim. Original warehouse movements, waste transfer notes and material passports remain source evidence; their historic FIFO attribution must not be added again to the shared pool allocations.
Recycling and reuse estimates are shown separately and summed once. Reuse assumes repair and replacement of a newly manufactured bumper; export transport, actual repair and downstream reuse remain unverified. Retain the period, scope, research assumptions and method version whenever quoting the figures.
Use of results and corrections
When sharing a figure, retain its reporting scope, period, method version, potential-status wording, source and material limitations alongside the figure. Do not remove qualifications, imply endorsement by the research authors, claim CAROS is VRA-certified, claim exclusive ownership of avoided emissions, or count the same benefit twice across reports. Assess separately whether figures are suitable for a tender, regulated filing, corporate inventory or public advertising; they must not be used as offsets or subtracted from corporate emissions solely on the basis of this report.
We aim to review relevant research quarterly and may revise factors upwards or downwards when better evidence supports a change. A review does not guarantee new evidence or an automatic update. Recorded reconciliations retain their source, average weight and method version; corrections require an identified revision and audit trail rather than silent alteration. Report suspected inaccuracies to sales@tradepartrecycle.com with the report reference. We will investigate and explain any correction needed.
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