Packaging destruction, sorting and recycling

What is packaging destruction?

Packaging destruction is the controlled withdrawal of out-of-use, misprinted, leaflet-changed or returned packaging from the market and its destruction or recycling at a licensed facility. Cartons with a wrong barcode, boxes with an old logo and packaging with changed leaflet content all fall within this scope. Scrap runs the packaging disposal process in line with the Waste Management Regulation, and we document every step through to the destruction minutes.

Logoed and branded packaging that leaves your control creates counterfeiting risk and damages your brand perception. We therefore treat misprinted, returned or recalled packaging as a brand-security process, not ordinary waste. We explain how this risk arises in our article on uncontrolled disposal. Protecting your brand during disposal is the subject of this article.

Which packaging is destroyed?

In short, any out-of-use packaging falls within destruction or recycling. These are the groups we meet most often:

• Plastic-based branded packaging: logoed, misprinted or returned plastic packaging that we shred, then recycle.
• Paper, cardboard and cellulose-based packaging: print-error or outdated-leaflet paper and cardboard.
• Composite and multi-layer packaging: multi-material packaging that needs a licensed stream suited to its structure.
• Metal packaging: sorted and sent to licensed recycling.
• Glass packaging: separated from other materials and sent for recovery.
• Residue-bearing packaging: packaging with product residue, processed by risk level.

Packaging destruction methods

We choose the method by material type, brand risk and recovery potential. We first return material to the economy, then handle the rest safely.

We decide each batch’s route at the preliminary assessment, so every item appears separately in the destruction minutes.

Legal basis of packaging destruction

Packaging destruction touches three areas of legislation: packaging and waste, the recovery contribution fee, and tax.

• Packaging: the Packaging Waste Control Regulation covers packaging placed on the market and its waste (Article 2/1), and leaves packaging and waste that has not been placed on the market outside its scope (Article 2/2). Misprinted stock that never reached the market therefore follows the general waste rules. The regulation also directs producers to the Waste Management Regulation and the Zero Waste Regulation (Article 19/1).
• Order of recovery: material recycling comes first; if it is not possible or economical and no other recovery route exists, the waste goes to energy recovery at a licensed facility (Article 20/2).
• GEKAP: the Regulation on the Recovery Contribution Fee applies the fee only to products placed on the domestic market (Article 5/2); exported products fall outside its scope (Article 2/2-a). Check your declarations with your accountant.
• Tax: Article 278 of the Tax Procedure Law leaves the value of goods whose worth has fallen significantly to the Valuation Commission; Article 278/A opens a separate route for goods that must be destroyed. The assessment and the minutes are the basis for expensing the stock cost.
• VAT: Article 30/c of the VAT Law governs VAT on lost goods. For destroyed goods, the tax office and the Council of State differ; choose the route with your accountant. Details: VAT on destroyed goods.

Destruction minutes and reporting

The destruction minutes officially record which packaging we destroyed, in what quantity, on what date and by which method. At Scrap they come as part of a document set:

• the Valuation Commission’s assessment and decision,
• the licensed facility’s destruction and recovery records, weighing slips and dispatch records,
• photo and video records of every batch,
• live tracking on the Online Tracking System,
• the Sustainable Transformation Report: recovery and carbon data that feed directly into your ESG and corporate sustainability reporting.

This set answers “was the packaging really destroyed?” with a single file, in tax audits and brand reviews alike.

Misprinted and labeled packaging: destruction or recycling?

They are not alternatives but two outputs of the same process. We shred the packaging first, so the print becomes unreadable. Then we send the material to recycling, so you destroy and recover at the same time. Our criteria:

• Accuracy of information: we never let packaging with a wrong barcode, date or content be reused.
• Validity of the design: if the old design still carries current, correct information, you can use it.
• Material type: composite packaging is a single piece whose materials cannot be separated by hand (Article 4/1-r), so it is harder to recycle.
• Brand risk: we count high-risk stock, seal it and shred it on record.

The tax result is the same, because both outputs are tied to the assessment and the minutes. Details in our article on misprinted and obsolete packaging, and the brand side in our article on label and logo packaging disposal.

How packaging destruction works with Scrap

The process starts with the request form. First, we analyze the packaging by type and risk level and present a proposal. We handle the official applications and the Valuation Commission assessment. Next, sealed, ADR-certified vehicles take the packaging to a licensed facility; we separate plastic, glass, metal and cardboard, and we shred logoed packaging so it can never be reused, then recycle it. Typical duration is about 21 business days. At the end you receive the minutes, weighing and dispatch records, photo and video records and the Sustainable Transformation Report; for every packaging destruction project a tree is planted and a child joins a nature education programme.