UK SIC 2007 38320: Recovery of sorted materials

Maps to NACE Rev. 2 38.32 and NACE Rev. 2.1 20.16, 38.21. ISIC Rev. 4: 3830.

UK SIC 2007 code 38320 is "Recovery of sorted materials". UK SIC 2007 follows NACE Rev. 2 at four digits and adds a national fifth digit, so the first four digits, 38.32, are the NACE Rev. 2 class "Recovery of sorted materials". UK companies state one or more SIC codes when they file at Companies House, and the codes appear in the company record. In NACE Rev. 2.1 the NACE Rev. 2 class behind this code is split across 2 classes, so check the activity before you convert.

Conversion

Classification	Code	Label
UK SIC 2007	38320	Recovery of sorted materials
NACE Rev. 2	38.32	Recovery of sorted materials
NACE Rev. 2.1	20.16	Manufacture of plastics in primary forms
NACE Rev. 2.1	38.21	Materials recovery
ISIC Rev. 4	3830

What the class includes (NACE Rev. 2 notes)

This class includes the processing of metal and non-metal waste and scrap and other articles into secondary raw materials, usually involving a mechanical or chemical transformation process. Examples of the mechanical or chemical transformation processes that are undertaken are: - mechanical crushing of metal waste from used cars, washing machines, bikes etc. - mechanical reduction of large iron pieces such as railway wagons - shredding of metal waste, end-of-life vehicles etc. - other methods of mechanical treatment as cutting, pressing to reduce the volume - reclaiming metals out of photographic waste, e.g. fixer solution or photographic films and paper - reclaiming of rubber such as used tyres to produce secondary raw material - sorting and pelleting of plastics to produce secondary raw material for tubes, flower pots, pallets and the like - processing (cleaning, melting, grinding) of plastic or rubber waste to granulates - crushing, cleaning and sorting of glass - crushing, cleaning and sorting of other waste such as demolition waste to obtain secondary raw material - processing of used cooking oils and fats into secondary raw materials - processing of other food, beverage and tobacco waste and residual substances into secondary raw materials

What it excludes

This class excludes: - manufacture of new final products from (whether or not self-manufactured) secondary raw materials, such as spinning yarn from garnetted stock, making pulp from paper waste, retreading tyres or production of metal from metal scrap, see corresponding classes in section C (Manufacturing) - reprocessing of nuclear fuels, see 20.13 - remelting ferrous waste and scrap, see 24.10 - materials recovery during waste combustion or incineration process, see 38.2 - treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste, see 38.21 - treatment of organic waste for disposal, including production of compost, see 38.21 - energy recovery during non-hazardous waste incineration process, see 38.21 - treatment and disposal of transition radioactive waste from hospitals etc., see 38.22 - treatment and disposal of toxic, contaminated waste, see 38.22 - wholesale of recoverable materials, see 46.77

Use it

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

UK SIC 2007: Companies House condensed list of the ONS classification (gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0), read 2026-10-05. NACE data: EU Vocabularies (CC BY 4.0). Information only.