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Recycling Rate

Free Recycling Rate calculator with clear step-by-step results.

About Recycling Rate

A recycling rate is the recycled stream divided by total waste arising, but the collected figure is not the recycled figure. Material rejected at the sorting facility for contamination — wet paper, food-soiled card, the wrong plastics, bagged recyclables — is diverted to disposal, so the honest rate is measured after rejection. Diversion is the broader metric, adding composting and digestion to recycling, and it is the one most zero-waste targets are written against.

Formulas

Accepted recycling

Accepted = collected recycling × (1 − contamination rate)

Rates

Recycling % = accepted ÷ total waste × 100; diversion % = (accepted + composted) ÷ total waste × 100

Worked example

With the default values below, Recycling Rate returns Recycling Rate After Contamination of 29.64%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Recycledminimum 0 kg
320 kg
Composted or anaerobically digestedminimum 0 kg
90 kg
Sent to landfillminimum 0 kg
480 kg
Incineratedminimum 0 kg
60 kg
Contamination rejected at the sorting facilityaccepts 0–100 %
12 %

Results

Recycling Rate After Contamination
29.64%
Headline Rate (as Collected)
33.68%
Total Diversion from Disposal
39.12%
Total Waste Arising
950.00 kg

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Accepted recycling
  3. 3Rates
  4. 4Recycling Rate After Contamination= 29.64
  5. 5Headline Rate (as Collected)= 33.68
  6. 6Total Diversion from Disposal= 39.12
  7. 7Total Waste Arising= 950.00 kg

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Statutory recycling and diversion rates are defined differently across jurisdictions, particularly in how contamination, energy recovery and export are treated. Use the prescribed methodology for any reported figure.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Statutory recycling and diversion rates are defined differently across jurisdictions, particularly in how contamination, energy recovery and export are treated. Use the prescribed methodology for any reported figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does contamination matter so much?

It removes material from the recycling stream and can downgrade an entire load. Contamination rates of 10-25% are common in commingled kerbside collections, which is why the headline and post-rejection figures diverge.

What is the difference between recycling and diversion?

Recycling means material reprocessed into new products. Diversion is anything kept out of landfill and incineration, so it also counts composting and anaerobic digestion. Diversion is always the higher number.

Does energy-from-waste count as diversion?

Not under most definitions used here — incineration with energy recovery sits below recycling and composting in the waste hierarchy and is treated as disposal. Some jurisdictions count it separately as recovery.

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