Municipal Waste Sorting Equipment worked example

Reject Stream Cost at 110% share of residue routed to disposal: a worked example

What does the result look like when share of residue routed to disposal reaches 110%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when budgeting residue disposal for the next quarter, pricing a processing contract, or weighing whether a secondary sort would pay back its disposal savings.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Residue tons in scope: 300 tons (unchanged)
  • Disposal tip fee: 65 $ / ton (unchanged)
  • Share of residue routed to disposal: 110 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 100)
  • Fixed haul, transfer, and handling cost: 1,500 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Variable residue disposal cost = residue tons x disposal tip fee x share routed to disposal) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 22,950 $ for total residue and reject cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 76.5 $ / piece for residue cost per ton.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 21,450 $ for variable residue disposal cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,500 $ for fixed haul and handling cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share of residue routed to disposal sits at 100% and the headline result is 21,000 $, this scenario comes in 9.29% above the baseline at 22,950 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when share of residue routed to disposal is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It uses a single blended tip fee and routing share; if your residue splits across multiple landfills or some is diverted to waste-to-energy at a different rate, model each stream separately.

Results at a glance

  • Total residue and reject cost: 22,950 $ (headline result)
  • Residue cost per ton: 76.5 $ / piece
  • Variable residue disposal cost: 21,450 $
  • Fixed haul and handling cost: 1,500 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.