Recycling Savings Calculator
Estimate the CO₂ you save each year by recycling instead of sending material to landfill.
How it works
CO₂ saved (kg) = amount per week × 52 × saving factor per kg
Recycling avoids the energy of making materials from scratch. The saving depends heavily on the material: aluminium is the star, because smelting it from ore is enormously energy-hungry, so recycling a can saves around 9 kg of CO₂ per kg. Paper and plastic save roughly 0.9–1.5 kg per kg, and glass less again. A mixed-recycling average of about 2.5 kg per kg is used when material is not separated.
Worked example
Recycling 5 kg of mixed material a week is 5 × 52 = 260 kg a year. At 2.5 kg CO₂ saved per kg, that is about 650 kg of CO₂ avoided annually. The same weight as pure aluminium would save around 2,340 kg.
Sources: EPA — Recycling Basics and Benefits
Frequently asked questions
Why is aluminium so much better than glass?
Producing aluminium from bauxite ore is one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes there is, so recycling it avoids a huge amount of energy. Glass is made from abundant sand and is heavier per item, so its per-kg saving is much smaller.
Do these numbers count transport and sorting?
They are net life-cycle averages that already account for collection and reprocessing energy — recycling still comes out ahead of landfill for these materials, which is why the factors are positive.
Is recycling better than reducing?
Reducing and reusing beat recycling, because they avoid making the item at all. Recycling is the fallback for material you have already used.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.