Environmental Compliance, Waste & Water Management worked example

Recycling Savings at 99% net capture share: a worked example

Push net capture share up to 99% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. an environmental or operations manager needs to budget or compare recycling savings

The inputs for this scenario

  • Recycled material quantity: 96 tons (unchanged)
  • Avoided disposal plus rebate value: 118 $ / ton (unchanged)
  • Net capture share: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 92)
  • Sorting, baling, or pickup cost: 2,200 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Variable cost = recycled material quantity × avoided disposal plus rebate value × net capture share) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 13,415 $ for total recycling savings, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 140 $ / ton for recycling value per ton.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11,215 $ for variable recycling savings.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,200 $ for sorting, baling, or pickup cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where net capture share sits at 92% and the headline result is 12,622 $, this scenario comes in 6.28% above the baseline at 13,415 $.
  • It computes net recycling savings by multiplying recycled tonnage by the combined avoided-disposal-plus-rebate value and the net capture share, then subtracting sorting, baling, and pickup costs, and reports a value per ton. 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

  • Total recycling savings: 13,415 $ (headline result)
  • Recycling value per ton: 140 $ / ton
  • Variable recycling savings: 11,215 $
  • Sorting, baling, or pickup cost: 2,200 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.