Calculate the carbon and energy saved by recycling household materials.
Aluminium recycling saves an order of magnitude more carbon per kilogram than glass, because smelting from ore is extraordinarily energy intensive. A small mass of aluminium therefore often dominates the total saving. Contamination causes whole loads to be rejected, so putting the wrong item in the bin can negate the benefit of everything else in it.
Recycling Impact
Saving = Σ(mass × carbon saved per kg), reduced by the contamination rate
Saving = Σ(mass × carbon saved per kg), reduced by the contamination rate Aluminium recycling saves an order of magnitude more carbon per kilogram than glass, because smelting from ore is extraordinarily energy intensive. A small mass of aluminium therefore often dominates the total saving.
Contamination causes whole loads to be rejected, so putting the wrong item in the bin can negate the benefit of everything else in it.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Paper and card recycled, Plastic recycled, Glass recycled, Aluminium recycled, Contamination rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.