Sustainable Packaging & EPR Compliance worked example

Packaging Waste Fee at 58% share of waste in the chargeable stream: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop share of waste in the chargeable stream to 58%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate disposal and recovery fees on packaging waste attributed to the producer.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Packaging waste generated: 60 tonnes (held at the documented default)
  • Disposal or recovery gate fee: 145 $/tonne (held at the documented default)
  • Share of waste in the chargeable stream: 58 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 80)
  • Collection and reporting charge: 1,500 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total waste fee = waste tonnage x gate fee x chargeable% + collection charge.
  • Total packaging waste fee cost works out to 6,546 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Packaging waste fee cost per unit works out to 109 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable packaging waste fee cost works out to 5,046 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed packaging waste fee adder works out to 1,500 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share of waste in the chargeable stream sits at 80% and the headline result is 8,460 $, this scenario comes in 22.62% below the baseline at 6,546 $.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to share of waste in the chargeable stream, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes one blended gate fee and one chargeable percentage; real schemes apply material-specific modulated rates, so mixed-material packaging needs the calculation run per material and summed.

Results at a glance

  • Total packaging waste fee cost: 6,546 $ (headline result)
  • Packaging waste fee cost per unit: 109 $ / piece
  • Variable packaging waste fee cost: 5,046 $
  • Fixed packaging waste fee adder: 1,500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Packaging Waste Fee calculator, set share of waste in the chargeable stream to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.