What remedies does a buyer usually ask for?
- Weight deduction: the contaminated share is not paid.
- Downgrade: the load is paid at a lower grade's price.
- Disposal charge: you pay to dispose of the residue.
- Rejection: the load is refused and returned or disposed of at your cost.
What does a threshold look like in practice?
Thresholds are stated as a share of weight. Kruger's mill specification reserves the right to reject bales above 1% prohibitives or 5% outthrows. In Connecticut, the operator of a regional recycling facility said in a 2019 lawsuit that its contract let it decline loads above 5% contamination, and the facility owner said the operator paid to dispose of residue above 5%. The case was about loads that exceeded the threshold, and an audit that found far more contamination than the contract assumed: the same number can protect either side, depending on whether anyone measures it.
How do I make claims checkable?
Ask for notice within a fixed time of delivery, photographs of the bales with your load number, the measured percentage, and a right to inspect or have a third party inspect before the material is processed. A claim made weeks later, with no photographs, cannot be tested.
Sample wording
8.1 Claims. Buyer may make a quality claim only by written notice within [2] business days of delivery, with photographs identifying the load and the measured percentage of prohibitive materials and outthrows.
8.2 Remedy. For a load exceeding the tolerances in section 1.2, Buyer may deduct the weight in excess of the tolerance. Buyer may reject a load only where prohibitive materials exceed [___]%.
8.3 Inspection. Seller may inspect, or appoint an inspector to inspect, a claimed load before it is processed.
What to negotiate
- Deduct only the weight above the tolerance, not the whole load, for ordinary contamination.
- Reserve full rejection for prohibitive levels above a stated percentage, or hazardous material.
- Require notice, photographs and the measured percentage, and a right to inspect.
- Cap disposal charges at a stated rate per ton.
Red flags in a draft
Claims "at Buyer’s sole discretion".No notice period: claims can arrive on the next month’s statement.Rejection of the whole load for any contamination.
Questions
- What contamination level is acceptable in baled cardboard?
- It is set by the buyer’s specification. One published mill specification reserves rejection above 1% prohibitives or 5% outthrows including prohibitives.
- Can a buyer reject a whole load?
- If the contract lets it. Many specifications reserve full rejection for prohibitive levels or hazardous material; ordinary claims should deduct only the excess weight.