Materials
The Administration › Materials screen manages the list of material types: the substances and fractions your plant produces, recovers and ships (steel, copper, plastic, used oil, R-134a gas…). Each material type belongs to a category (the material's "nature"), which gives it its icon.
The screen has two tabs: Material Types and Categories.
Material types are used in several places:
- Outbound batches: each outbound batch holds a single Material, chosen among the active materials. See Outbound batches.
- Degassing: the Gas type list offers the active materials ticked Gas. See Degassing.
- Product records: a model of a degassable type states its Gas type, chosen from the same materials. See Products.
- Partners: each client can have a default valorization for each material. See Partners.
- Reports: the outbound materials register shows the category (Material nature) and the material (Material type) of each shipped batch; the mass balance groups outputs by category and details each gas with its family, usage type, GWP and GHG emissions. See Mass balance.
Before you start
- You need the Materials permission (see Administration overview).
- Every material type must belong to a category: create the category before its materials.
Default materials
A new organization receives the following categories and material types. They are created in French; the names are data and you can change them.
| Category | Icon | Material types (code — name) |
|---|---|---|
| Métaux ferreux (ferrous metals) | magnet (magnet) | ACI — Acier; AMF — Autres métaux ferreux; TOL — Tôle |
| Métaux non-ferreux (non-ferrous metals) | screwdriver and wrench (screwdriver-wrench) | ALU — Aluminium; CUI — Cuivre; RAD — Radiateur; LAI — Laiton (Brass jaune); CEL — Carte électronique; FIL — Fil; PRI — Prise électrique; STA — Stainless; COM — Compresseur; MOT — Moteur; ZOR — Zorba; AMN — Autres métaux non-ferreux |
| Plastiques (plastics) | recycling bin (bin-bottles-recycle) | PLA — Plastique; PST — Polystyrène (styromousse); PUR — PUR; HIP — HIPS/ABS/PP/PE |
| Matières dangereuses (hazardous materials) | warning triangle (triangle-exclamation) | EHU — Eaux huileuses; HUI — Huiles usées; MER — Mercure |
| Verre (glass) | wine glass (wine-glass) | VER — Verre |
| Pièces réemployées (reused parts) | gear (gear) | PRF — Pièce réfrigérateur |
| Déchets (waste) | trash can (trash-can) | DEC — Déchets |
The Gaz et agent de gonflement category (gauge icon, gauge-high) holds the refrigerant gases and blowing agents, all ticked Gas:
| Code | Name | Family | Usage type | GWP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R12 | R-12 | CFC | Blowing agent and refrigerant | 10,900 |
| R11 | R-11 | CFC | Blowing agent and refrigerant | 4,750 |
| R410A | R-410A | HFC | Refrigerant | 2,100 |
| R22 | R-22 | HCFC | Refrigerant | 1,810 |
| R134A | R-134a | HFC | Refrigerant | 1,430 |
| R245FA | R-245fa | HFC | Blowing agent and refrigerant | 1,030 |
| R141B | R-141b | HCFC | Blowing agent and refrigerant | 725 |
| R32 | R-32 | HFC | Refrigerant | 675 |
| R600A | R-600a | Isobutane | Refrigerant | 3 |
| CYC | Cyclopentane | Hydrocarbon | Hydrocarbon | 3 |
| NH3-SO2 | NH3 ou SO2 | Inorganic refrigerant | Refrigerant | 0 |
RecyTrax does not recreate a default material or category you have deleted, and never changes the ones you have modified. During an update, it only adds those still missing and fills in, on a default gas, a family, usage type or GWP that is empty.
View material types
- Open Administration › Materials. The Material Types tab is shown.
- To search, type in Search by code or name.
- To show a single category, choose it in the All categories list.
The list shows the following columns:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Icon | The icon of the material's category. |
| Code | The material's code. |
| Name | The material's name. |
| Category | The material's category. |
| Gas | A check mark if the material is a gas, an X otherwise. |
| Active | Active or Inactive. |
Create a material type
- In the Material Types tab, click New material type.
- Enter the Code and the Name.
- Choose the Category.
- If the material is a refrigerant gas or a blowing agent, tick Gas, then fill in Family, Usage type and Global warming potential (GWP).
- Click Save.
The new material is active and immediately offered in the pick lists.
If no category exists yet, the window shows "Create a category first - every material type must belong to one." Click Create a category to switch to the Categories tab.
Edit a material type
- Click the pencil icon at the end of the row. The Edit material type window opens.
- Change the fields you need.
- Click Save.
The change applies everywhere the material appears, including in existing batches and reports.
If you untick Gas, the family, usage type and GWP are cleared when you save. The material is then no longer offered as a gas type at degassing or in product records, and no longer appears in the gas section of the mass balance.
Deactivate a material type
- Click the pencil icon at the end of the row.
- Turn off the Active switch.
- Click Save.
An inactive material is no longer offered when creating an outbound batch, as a gas type at degassing or in a product record, or in a client's default valorizations. Batches, products and clients that already have it keep it, and it remains available when you edit them. Reactivate it the same way.
Delete a material type
- Click the trash icon at the end of the row.
- Confirm with Yes in the "Are you sure you want to delete 'name'?" window.
RecyTrax does not check whether the material is already used in batches, products or partner records. To retire a material that has already been used, deactivate it instead. The code of a deleted material can be reused.
Manage categories
The Categories tab lists categories with their Icon, their Name and the number of Material types they contain. Search with Search by name.
Create a category
- In the Categories tab, click New category.
- Enter the Name.
- Choose an Icon with Select an icon (optional; see The icon picker).
- Click Save.
Edit a category
Click the pencil icon, change the name or the icon, then click Save. The new icon immediately appears next to every material in the category.
Delete a category
A category can only be deleted once it no longer contains any material type: while it does, the trash icon is greyed out. To empty it, edit each of its materials and choose another Category.
Fields
Material type
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Short identifier of the material, up to 32 characters. Unique within your organization (ignoring capitals and spaces at the start and end). Default materials use a 3-letter code (ACI, CUI…) and gases their designation (R134A…). | Yes |
| Name | Name shown in lists and reports, up to 128 characters. | Yes |
| Category | The material's nature; it gives the material its icon and groups outputs in the mass balance. | Yes |
| Gas | Tick for a refrigerant gas or a blowing agent. Shows the three fields below. | No |
| Family | CFC, HFC, HCFC, Isobutane, Hydrocarbon or Inorganic refrigerant. | Yes, for a gas |
| Usage type | Blowing agent and refrigerant, Refrigerant or Hydrocarbon. | Yes, for a gas |
| Global warming potential (GWP) | "GWP per kg of gas." Whole number, 0 or more (the field only accepts digits). | Yes, for a gas |
| Active | Switch shown when editing only. An inactive material is no longer offered in pick lists. | — |
Category
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Category name, up to 128 characters. It appears as Material nature in the outbound materials register and in the Material column of the mass balance outputs. | Yes |
| Icon | Icon shown next to each material in the category. | No |
How the GWP is used
In section 3. Volumes of blowing agents and refrigerant gases recovered, by type of the mass balance, each gas shows its Family, its Usage type and its Global warming potential (GWP). The GHG (t CO2 eq.) column is calculated as follows:
GHG (t CO2 eq.) = quantity shipped (kg) × GWP ÷ 1,000
For example, 12 kg of R-134a (GWP 1,430) shipped during the period gives 12 × 1,430 ÷ 1,000 = 17.16 t CO2 eq. Gases are listed from the highest GWP to the lowest.
Rules and messages
| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| "The code is required." | The code is empty. |
| "The name is required." | The name is empty (material type or category). |
| "A category is required." | No category is chosen. |
| "A material type with this code already exists." | Another material already has this code (capitals and spaces ignored). |
| "The family is required for a gas." | Gas is ticked but Family is empty. |
| "The usage type is required for a gas." | Gas is ticked but Usage type is empty. |
| "The GWP is required for a gas." | Gas is ticked but the GWP is empty. |
| "The GWP must be 0 or more." | The GWP is negative. |
| "The selected category no longer exists." | The category was deleted in the meantime by someone else. |
| "This material type no longer exists." | The material was deleted in the meantime by someone else. |
| "This category no longer exists." | The category was deleted in the meantime by someone else. |
Frequently asked questions
A gas does not appear in the "Gas type" list. Why?
The list only offers materials ticked Gas and active. Open the material in Administration › Materials, tick Gas and turn on Active. If no material is a gas, the product record shows "No material is marked as a gas. Tick "Gas" on a material in Administration › Materials."
A material is not offered when I create an outbound batch.
It is probably Inactive: the Active column of the list shows it. Open it with the pencil icon and turn on the Active switch.
How do I change a material's icon?
The icon belongs to the category. Change the category's icon in the Categories tab: all its materials take the new icon.
Why can't I delete a category?
It still contains material types (see the Material types column). Move them to another category or delete them first.
Should I delete or deactivate a material we no longer use?
Deactivate it. It disappears from the pick lists, but the batches, products and reports that use it stay intact.
I deleted a default material by mistake. Will it come back?
No, RecyTrax does not recreate it. Create it again with New material type: its code is available again.
Where do I find the official GWP of a gas?
RecyTrax provides the GWP of the default gases (table above). For another gas, use the reference value recognized by your regulator, in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of gas.