Recycling Impact Calculator

Estimate CO2 savings from recycling common household materials.

Scratchpad (not saved)

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What This Calculator Does

Estimate CO2 savings from recycling common household materials.

It combines Paper, Plastic, Aluminum, Glass to estimate CO2 Saved, CO2 Saved (kg), Paper Savings (lbs).

Formula & Method

Savings are computed by material: CO2_{saved}=\sum w_i\cdot s_i where w_i is recycled weight (lb) and s_i is per-lb CO2 savings factor for each material.

Notation used in the formulas: R = CO2 Saved; x_{1} = Paper; x_{2} = Plastic; x_{3} = Aluminum; x_{4} = Glass.

Method summary: inputs are normalized to consistent units, core equations are evaluated, then secondary values are derived and rounded for display.

Use this calculator for quick scenario analysis. Start with baseline values, change one driver at a time, and compare how sensitive the results are to each input shown above.

Inputs Used

  • Paper: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Plastic: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Aluminum: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Glass: Used directly in the calculation.

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