Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Recycling Contamination Rate at 4.6% maximum allowable contamination rate: a worked example

Push maximum allowable contamination rate up to 4.6% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. a team needs to change supplier acceptance rules, sorting labor, or customer feedback for a inbound recycling stream

The inputs for this scenario

  • Contaminated material found: 1,350 kg (unchanged)
  • Incoming material inspected: 27,000 kg (unchanged)
  • Maximum allowable contamination rate: 4.6 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 4)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Recycling Contamination Rate = contaminated material found ÷ incoming material inspected × 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 5 % for recycling contamination rate result, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns -0.4 points for recycling contamination rate gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,350 count for contaminated material found.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 27,000 count for incoming material inspected.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where maximum allowable contamination rate sits at 4% and the headline result is 5 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 5 %.
  • It computes contaminated material as a percentage of inspected incoming material, then compares that rate to your maximum allowable contamination threshold. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Recycling Contamination Rate result: 5 % (headline result)
  • Recycling Contamination Rate gap to target: -0.4 points
  • Contaminated material found: 1,350 count
  • Incoming material inspected: 27,000 count

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Recycling Contamination Rate calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.