DIN SPEC 91436 ZERO WASTE

Standard owner: 

The standard owner is the German Institute for Standardization (Deutsches Institut für Normung, DIN). DIN is responsible for the systematic review and revision of the DIN SPEC. The DIN SPEC was developed by a DIN SPEC consortium with the involvement of TÜV SÜD Management Service in accordance with the PAS procedure. The consortium was led by DIN.

What does the DIN SPEC 91436 standard cover? 

The standard defines the requirements for operational waste and recyclables management oriented towards a vision of “zero waste”. This includes:

• Establishment of system boundaries, analysis of the operational environment and definition of the set of goals 
• Establishment of roles and responsibilities, communication and setup of a training concept 
• Waste and recyclables management processes (prevention, collection and sorting, container concept, reuse, recycling, composting, fermentation, thermal or energy recovery and landfilling) 
• Review 
• Key figures, monitoring and reporting 
• Continual improvement

What does the term “certification” or the issue of a DIN SPEC 91436 certification mark by TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH mean?

• The customer has undergone voluntary assessment (audit) in accordance with defined criteria (certification standard). 
• A certificate and/or the authorisation to use a certification mark is only issued where the audit does not reveal any major nonconformities from the certification standard. Regarding the requirements of the DIN SPEC, this means specifically that the relevant checklists must be 100% fulfilled. 
• Certificates and certification marks have a limited period of validity. Interested parties can check the validity of individual certificates in the certificate database. 
• In order to maintain certification, the certificate holder must annually complete an announced audit with a positive result. 
• Unannounced audits are also possible.

How is the audit performed?

Independent and qualified experts (auditors) apply the following auditing techniques:

• On-site audit:
  Within the scope of the on-site audit at the company or organisation in question, our auditors verify the certificate holder’s compliance with the defined requirements and/or criteria. For this purpose, the auditors interview the members of top management and the persons responsible for waste and recyclables management as well as other employees from different areas, teams or departments.
  By doing so, the auditors determine the extent to which the certificate holder complies with the following requirements. 

• Checklist A = Maturity Level Bronze means ≥ 85% prevention, reuse, recycling, composting or fermentation of the relative total amount of waste 
• Checklists A and B = Maturity Level Silver means ≥ 90% prevention, reuse, recycling, composting or fermentation of the relative total amount of waste
• Checklists A, B and C = Maturity Level Gold means ≥ 95% prevention, reuse, recycling, composting or fermentation of the relative total amount of waste 

• Document review  
  In addition to the on-site audit, relevant documents will be inspected and reviewed either on site or upstream of the audit. This includes documented information that the organisation undertakes to comply with DIN SPEC 91436, plans for waste prevention, waste inventories, evidence of disposal, training certificates etc.

What is beyond the scope of certification in accordance with the DIN SPEC 91436 standard?

• The following applies to all types of management system certification: This certification does not constitute product certification. Certification thus does not provide any direct statements on the quality of a product or service of the certified customer. Certification in accordance with DIN SPEC 91436 does not mean that the company manufactures products or provides services of higher quality. 
• Certification in accordance with DIN SPEC 91436 does not mean that the company produces zero waste. 
• Certification does not constitute proof of compliance with municipal, regulatory or other legal requirements or conditions, regulations or laws.