How do you calculate reject cost on a filling line?

Multiply the reject count by the average cost per reject and your allocation share, then add fixed containment costs. With 680 rejects at $0.42 each and 100% allocation you get $285.60, plus $900 fixed, for $1,185.60.

What goes into the cost per packaging reject?

The value already sunk into the unit: product, container, closure, label, and the filling and labeling labor up to the reject point. The calculator also surfaces a blended $1.74 average cost per reject across all units.

Why include a fixed sorting and disposal cost?

Rejects don't vanish: you pay to segregate, contain, and dispose of or de-pack them. The $900 fixed line here captures that effort regardless of how many units were rejected.

What is a good reject rate for a bottling or canning line?

High-performing lines hold container rejects well under 1%. The cost matters more than the count, though: 680 cheap empties hurt far less than 680 filled, labeled cases, which is why per-reject cost is the better lever.

How do I prioritize which reject to fix?

Rank reject modes by total cost, not frequency. A defect that scraps fully finished units carries a high cost per reject and should be attacked before a high-frequency but cheap upstream empty-container reject.

Reject cost vs scrap cost — are they the same?

Closely related. Reject cost here includes both the sunk value of the units and the downstream sorting, containment and disposal spend ($900 fixed), giving a fuller picture than raw scrap-material value alone.

Bottling, Canning & Filling Lines calculator

Reject Cost Calculator

Reject cost quantifies what scrapped bottles, cans, cases, or pallets actually cost a packaging line once you count the product, the container, the filling and labeling labor already invested, plus the fixed cost of sorting, containing, and disposing of the bad units. Quality and operations leaders use it to prioritize which reject mode to fix first and to size the savings from a vision-system or fill-control upgrade. It matters because rejects are double losses: you paid to make the unit and you pay again to get rid of it, all while the defect signals a process drifting out of spec. This calculator converts a reject tally into the dollars that get a corrective action funded.

What this calculator does

Estimate the cost of rejects from filling, closing, labeling, inspection, packing, palletizing, or finished-goods containment.
a bottling, canning, or filling line needs to quantify the financial impact of rejects and containment work
It computes total reject cost by valuing the reject count at an average cost per reject, applying an allocation share, and adding fixed containment and disposal costs.

Formula used

Allocated filling line reject cost = rejected bottles, cans, cases, or pallets × average cost per packaging reject × allocation share
Filling line reject cost = allocated cost + fixed cost

Inputs explained

Rejected bottles, cans, cases or pallets:
Average cost per packaging reject:
Reject cost allocation share:
Fixed sorting, containment and disposal cost:

How to use the result

Use it during a quality cost review, a scrap-reduction kaizen, or when justifying inspection or fill-control capital.
An average cost per reject hides the spread between a cheap empty-can reject and a fully filled, labeled, date-coded case; for high-value defects, segment the analysis by where in the line the reject occurs.

Common questions

How do you calculate reject cost on a filling line? Multiply the reject count by the average cost per reject and your allocation share, then add fixed containment costs. With 680 rejects at $0.42 each and 100% allocation you get $285.60, plus $900 fixed, for $1,185.60.
What goes into the cost per packaging reject? The value already sunk into the unit: product, container, closure, label, and the filling and labeling labor up to the reject point. The calculator also surfaces a blended $1.74 average cost per reject across all units.
Why include a fixed sorting and disposal cost? Rejects don't vanish: you pay to segregate, contain, and dispose of or de-pack them. The $900 fixed line here captures that effort regardless of how many units were rejected.
What is a good reject rate for a bottling or canning line? High-performing lines hold container rejects well under 1%. The cost matters more than the count, though: 680 cheap empties hurt far less than 680 filled, labeled cases, which is why per-reject cost is the better lever.
How do I prioritize which reject to fix? Rank reject modes by total cost, not frequency. A defect that scraps fully finished units carries a high cost per reject and should be attacked before a high-frequency but cheap upstream empty-container reject.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.