# Recoverability settings

In the UP Scorecard, a product is considered to be effectively recovered if it is reused, composted, or recycled, which means that a product fulfills the following:

* *recoverable*, i.e. designed for reuse, recycling, or composting, **and**
* *collected and processed*, i.e. the infrastructure to reuse, recycle, or compost the specified product is available.

Except for a few products and materials for which mature recovery systems are in place, the tool considers that products are not designed for recycling or composting and that the infrastructure is not available. For materials considered recoverable, [regional recoverability averages](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K4YgfASpkQqByWoV1xpfX_U2qoj4cVU4r6e7iEWJlT0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.hfhxbm36o1tn) are used.

It is therefore up to the user to adjust settings for composting and recycling to reflect their local situations (see [Adjusting recovery settings](/using-the-tool/customization/how-to-customize/adjusting-recovery-settings.md)) The tool lets you specify whether:

* your product is designed for optimal composting or recycling
* you have access to the infrastructures that can properly handle the composting or recycling of this product

If both conditions are fulfilled, then the product is considered recovered and the recovery score can improve. Below are the composting and recycling settings that can be customized.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Composting" %}

### **Compostability**

All materials are by default not compostable. 

You can change the compostability when creating a product or customizing an existing product, by specifying if the product is certified as compostable, according to the following labels:

* CMA Commercially Accepted Products List
* BPI (BioProducts Institute)

***

### **Availability of composting facilities**

Availability of composting facilities: by default not available.

If your municipality is equipped with an industrial composting center, you can specify this in the tool. This can be done on the result dashboard page or when editing a portfolio.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Recycling" %}

### **Recyclability**

Only [certain materials](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MT8dJXo-pvYj0l6TpNLWF8bwUoB2I96qsgPvb3fy7vE/edit?tab=t.0#bookmark=id.5m85xpiwe4de) are considered optimized for recycling by default, reflecting the maturity of recycling chains (glass, aluminum, steel, and bottles and jugs made from #1 PET and #2 HDPE). You can change this when creating a product or customizing an existing product by specifying if the product is optimized for recycling or not.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you are not sure about the recyclability of a given product, we compiled information about the most commonly used materials: [Criteria for recycling optimization](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MT8dJXo-pvYj0l6TpNLWF8bwUoB2I96qsgPvb3fy7vE/edit?tab=t.0#bookmark=id.q6xql5fs3ml3)
{% endhint %}

***

### **Availability of recycling facilities**

* Available by default for [certain materials](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MT8dJXo-pvYj0l6TpNLWF8bwUoB2I96qsgPvb3fy7vE/edit?tab=t.0#bookmark=id.5m85xpiwe4de) (most common ones: glass, aluminum, steel, and bottles and jugs made from #1 PET and #2 HDPE, and uncoated paper and board)
* All other materials: by default not available

If your municipality is equipped with facilities that can process certain types of materials outside the most common ones, you can specify this in the tool on the result dashboard page, or when editing a portfolio.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

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Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.upscorecard.org/using-the-tool/customization/what-can-you-customize/recoverability-settings.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.