Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Recycling Yield at 59% target recycling yield: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop target recycling yield to 59%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Calculate recovered saleable material yield from an incoming recycling stream after sorting, contamination, and processing losses.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Saleable recovered material: 18,400 kg (held at the documented default)
  • Incoming recyclable material: 23,000 kg (held at the documented default)
  • Target recycling yield: 59 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 82)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Recycling Yield = saleable recovered material ÷ incoming recyclable material × 100.
  • Recycling Yield result works out to 80 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Recycling Yield gap to target works out to -21 points at these inputs.
  • Saleable recovered material works out to 18,400 count at these inputs.
  • Incoming recyclable material works out to 23,000 count at these inputs.

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 %.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to target recycling yield, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It measures mass recovery only, not quality or grade — a 90% yield of off-spec, contaminated material can be worth less than a 75% yield of clean, mill-ready bales.

Results at a glance

  • Recycling Yield result: 80 % (headline result)
  • Recycling Yield gap to target: -21 points
  • Saleable recovered material: 18,400 count
  • Incoming recyclable material: 23,000 count

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Recycling Yield calculator, set target recycling yield to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.