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NACE 38.21: Materials recovery

NACE Rev. 2.1 class. Replaces NACE Rev. 2 38.21, 38.31, 38.32. Closest ISIC Rev. 4: 3821, 3830.

NACE Rev. 2.1 class 38.21 is "Materials recovery". It sits in section E (WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES), then division 38 (Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities), then group 38.2 (Waste recovery). In the previous classification, NACE Rev. 2, the activity was covered by 38.21 (Treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste), 38.31 (Dismantling of wrecks), 38.32 (Recovery of sorted materials).

What the class includes

This class includes the processing of metal and non-metal waste, including scrap and other articles into secondary raw materials. Further included is the recovery of materials from waste streams in the form of: (1) separating and sorting recoverable materials from non-hazardous waste streams; or (2) separating and sorting of commingled recoverable materials (for example, paper, plastics, used beverage cans and metals) into distinct categories. Examples of the mechanical or chemical transformation processes that are undertaken include: - mechanical crushing and shredding of metal waste (e.g. from used cars, washing machines or motorcycles) - mechanical reduction of large iron pieces (e.g. railway wagons) - recovery of iron from clinker - reclaiming metals out of photographic waste (e.g. fixer solution or photographic films and paper) - dismantling of wrecks of any type (automobiles, ships, computers, televisions and other equipment) for materials recovery - producing of rubber powder from rubber waste and scrap, including decontamination, division (elimination) of fractions and devulcanising - sorting and mechanical processing (e.g. cleaning, grinding) of plastics to produce secondary raw materials - processing (ageing, cleaning, sorting) of incineration bottom ash into secondary raw materials (metals, aggregates) - crushing, cleaning and sorting of glass - crushing, cleaning and sorting of other waste (e.g. demolition waste to obtain secondary raw materials) - processing of food, beverage and tobacco waste and residual substances into secondary raw materials - recovery of waste oil, processing of used cooking oils and fats into secondary raw materials - extraction of silver from waste chemicals, other than by electrolytic refining - recovery of phosphorus from the incineration of sewage sludge - recovery of textile and clothing products by mechanical, thermal or chemical processes - production of waste compost - production of biogas from waste, not for the purpose of gas or energy supply

What it excludes

This class excludes: - manufacture of new final products from secondary raw materials, whether or not self-manufactured (e.g. spinning yarn from garnetted stock, making pulp from paper waste, retreading tyres or the production of metal from metal scrap), see corresponding classes in section C - reprocessing of nuclear fuels, see 20.13 - remelting of plastics to produce granulates or compounds, see 20.16 - remelting ferrous waste and scrap, see 24.10 - production of biogas from waste for gas supply, see 35.21 - energy recovery during waste thermal treatment, see 38.22 - disposal of waste without recovery and treatment prior to disposal, see 38.3 - wholesale of recoverable materials, see 46.87

Correspondence with NACE Rev. 2

NACE Rev. 2Label (Rev. 2)Also maps to
38.21Treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste5
38.31Dismantling of wrecks-
38.32Recovery of sorted materials1

The label in 24 languages

Neighbouring classes

38.22 Energy recovery · 38.23 Other waste recovery

Use it

Convert a list of NACE Rev. 2 codes to Rev. 2.1 in your browser, or search all codes. The same data is available from the API and the MCP server.

Official classification texts from EU Vocabularies (Publications Office of the European Union, CC BY 4.0), read on 2026-10-05. Correspondence tables link classes that cover the same activities; one old class can be split across several new ones, so check the notes before you convert a dataset. Information only.