Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Recycling Yield at 94% target recycling yield: a worked example

Push target recycling yield up to 94% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. a team needs to tune sorting, contamination controls, and outlet selection for a recycling stream

The inputs for this scenario

  • Saleable recovered material: 18,400 kg (unchanged)
  • Incoming recyclable material: 23,000 kg (unchanged)
  • Target recycling yield: 94 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 82)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Recycling Yield = saleable recovered material ÷ incoming recyclable material × 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 80 % for recycling yield result, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 14 points for recycling yield gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 18,400 count for saleable recovered material.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 23,000 count for incoming recyclable material.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target recycling yield sits at 82% and the headline result is 80 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 80 %.
  • It computes saleable recovered material as a percentage of incoming recyclable material, then the gap in points between that actual yield and your target. 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 Yield result: 80 % (headline result)
  • Recycling Yield gap to target: 14 points
  • Saleable recovered material: 18,400 count
  • Incoming recyclable material: 23,000 count

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.