Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Recovered Material Margin at 57% saleable recovered-material quality share: a worked example

This worked example runs the recovered material margin numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 57% saleable recovered-material quality share instead of the typical 79%. Estimate margin from selling recovered material after recovery volume, resale margin, saleable quality share, and fixed processing cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Recovered material prepared for sale: 22,000 kg (held at the documented default)
  • Margin per saleable recovered kg: 0.42 $ / kg (held at the documented default)
  • Saleable recovered-material quality share: 57 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 79)
  • Fixed sorting, baling, certification, or broker cost to subtract: 2,600 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross recovered-material margin = recovered material prepared for sale × margin per saleable recovered kg × saleable recovered-material quality share.
  • Net recovered material margin works out to 7,867 net recovered material margin at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Margin per kg recovered works out to 0.36 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Gross recovered-material margin works out to 5,267 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed sorting, baling, certification, or broker cost to subtract works out to 2,600 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where saleable recovered-material quality share sits at 79% and the headline result is 9,900 net recovered material margin, this scenario comes in 20.53% below the baseline at 7,867 net recovered material margin.
  • Use it to decide whether to process and sell a recovered stream at current prices, and to compare streams on an effective per-kg basis. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Net recovered material margin: 7,867 net recovered material margin (headline result)
  • Margin per kg recovered: 0.36 $ / piece
  • Gross recovered-material margin: 5,267 $
  • Fixed sorting, baling, certification, or broker cost to subtract: 2,600 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Recovered Material Margin calculator, set saleable recovered-material quality share to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.