{"id":2893,"date":"2026-04-03T22:49:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/?page_id=2893"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:51:30","slug":"plastic-recycling-impact-calculator","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/?page_id=2893","title":{"rendered":"Plastic Recycling Impact Calculator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"eco-tool wp-block-group\" id=\"eco-tool-recycle-k47v2\">\n  <div class=\"eco-tool__header\">\n    <h2 class=\"eco-tool__title\">Plastic Recycling Impact Calculator<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"eco-tool__lead\">\n      Estimate how much plastic waste and CO\u2082 you could help avoid by recycling common plastic items.\n    <\/p>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <form class=\"eco-tool__form\" id=\"eco-recycle-form-k47v2\" novalidate>\n    <div class=\"eco-tool__grid3\">\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"bottles-k47v2\">Plastic bottles<br>per week<\/label>\n        <input class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"bottles-k47v2\" type=\"number\" min=\"0\" step=\"1\" value=\"5\" inputmode=\"numeric\" \/>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Water, soda, and similar bottles.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"containers-k47v2\">Plastic containers<br>per week<\/label>\n        <input class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"containers-k47v2\" type=\"number\" min=\"0\" step=\"1\" value=\"2\" inputmode=\"numeric\" \/>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Food trays, takeaway containers, tubs.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"bags-k47v2\">Plastic bags<br>per week<\/label>\n        <input class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"bags-k47v2\" type=\"number\" min=\"0\" step=\"1\" value=\"3\" inputmode=\"numeric\" \/>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Shopping and grocery bags.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"rate-k47v2\">Recycling rate (%)<\/label>\n        <input class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"rate-k47v2\" type=\"number\" min=\"0\" max=\"100\" step=\"1\" value=\"60\" inputmode=\"numeric\" \/>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Estimated share you actually recycle.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"household-k47v2\">People in household<\/label>\n        <input class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"household-k47v2\" type=\"number\" min=\"1\" step=\"1\" value=\"2\" inputmode=\"numeric\" \/>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Used for per-person estimates.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__field\">\n        <label class=\"eco-tool__label\" for=\"quality-k47v2\">Sorting quality<\/label>\n        <select class=\"eco-tool__input\" id=\"quality-k47v2\">\n          <option value=\"low\">Low<\/option>\n          <option value=\"medium\" selected>Medium<\/option>\n          <option value=\"high\">High<\/option>\n        <\/select>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__hint\">Cleaner sorting can improve recycling outcomes.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"eco-tool__actions\">\n      <button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-element-button eco-tool__btn\" id=\"calc-k47v2\">Calculate<\/button>\n      <button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-element-button eco-tool__btn eco-tool__btn--ghost\" id=\"reset-k47v2\">Reset<\/button>\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__error\" id=\"error-k47v2\" aria-live=\"polite\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/form>\n\n  <div class=\"eco-tool__result\" id=\"result-k47v2\" hidden>\n    <h3 class=\"eco-tool__subtitle\">Result<\/h3>\n\n    <div class=\"eco-tool__cards\">\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__card\">\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-label\">Plastic recycled<\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-value\" id=\"plastic-k47v2\">\u2014<\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-sub\" id=\"plastic-year-k47v2\"><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__card\">\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-label\">Estimated CO\u2082 avoided<\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-value\" id=\"co2-k47v2\">\u2014<\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-sub\" id=\"co2-person-k47v2\"><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"eco-tool__card eco-tool__card--wide\">\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-label\">Breakdown of recycled plastic<\/div>\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__bars\" id=\"bars-k47v2\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__metric-sub\" id=\"tip-k47v2\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <details class=\"eco-tool__details\">\n    <summary class=\"eco-tool__summary\">How we calculate<\/summary>\n    <div class=\"eco-tool__details-body\">\n      <p class=\"eco-tool__text\">\n        We estimate the weight of common plastic items, apply your recycling rate, then adjust by sorting quality.\n        CO\u2082 savings are based on a simple average per kilogram of recycled plastic.\n      <\/p>\n      <ul class=\"eco-tool__list\" id=\"factors-k47v2\"><\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n<style>\n.eco-tool{border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.12);border-radius:12px;padding:16px;}\n.eco-tool__header{margin-bottom:12px;}\n.eco-tool__title{margin:0 0 8px;}\n.eco-tool__lead{margin:0;opacity:.9;}\n.eco-tool__form{margin-top:12px;}\n.eco-tool__grid3{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr;gap:16px;}\n@media (min-width:860px){.eco-tool__grid3{grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr 1fr;}}\n.eco-tool__field{display:flex;flex-direction:column;gap:6px;}\n.eco-tool__label{font-weight:600;}\n.eco-tool__input{width:100%;height:44px;padding:0 12px;border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.20);border-radius:10px;background:#fff;box-sizing:border-box;font:inherit;}\n.eco-tool select.eco-tool__input{\n  appearance:none;-webkit-appearance:none;line-height:44px;padding-right:40px;\n  background-image:\n    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1fr;}}\n.eco-tool__card{border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.12);border-radius:12px;padding:12px;}\n.eco-tool__card--wide{margin-top:10px;}\n.eco-tool__metric-label{opacity:.85;font-weight:600;}\n.eco-tool__metric-value{font-size:1.6em;font-weight:800;margin-top:6px;line-height:1.1;}\n.eco-tool__metric-sub{opacity:.85;margin-top:6px;}\n.eco-tool__bars{display:grid;gap:10px;margin-top:12px;}\n.eco-tool__barrow{display:grid;grid-template-columns:140px 1fr 90px;gap:10px;align-items:center;}\n@media (max-width:480px){.eco-tool__barrow{grid-template-columns:110px 1fr 70px;}}\n.eco-tool__barlabel{font-weight:600;opacity:.9;}\n.eco-tool__bartrack{border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.12);border-radius:999px;height:12px;overflow:hidden;background:rgba(0,0,0,.03);}\n.eco-tool__barfill{height:100%;width:0%;background:rgba(0,0,0,.25);}\n.eco-tool__barval{text-align:right;opacity:.85;white-space:nowrap;}\n.eco-tool__details{margin-top:14px;}\n.eco-tool__summary{cursor:pointer;font-weight:700;}\n.eco-tool__details-body{margin-top:10px;}\n.eco-tool__text{margin:0 0 10px;}\n.eco-tool__list{margin:0;padding-left:18px;}\n<\/style>\n\n<script>\n(function(){\n  const S = \"k47v2\";\n  const el = (id) => document.getElementById(id + \"-\" + S);\n\n  const bottlesEl = el(\"bottles\");\n  const containersEl = el(\"containers\");\n  const bagsEl = el(\"bags\");\n  const rateEl = el(\"rate\");\n  const householdEl = el(\"household\");\n  const qualityEl = el(\"quality\");\n\n  const calcBtn = el(\"calc\");\n  const resetBtn = el(\"reset\");\n  const errorEl = el(\"error\");\n  const resultEl = el(\"result\");\n\n  const plasticEl = el(\"plastic\");\n  const plasticYearEl = el(\"plastic-year\");\n  const co2El = el(\"co2\");\n  const co2PersonEl = el(\"co2-person\");\n  const barsEl = el(\"bars\");\n  const tipEl = el(\"tip\");\n  const factorsEl = el(\"factors\");\n\n  const WEIGHTS = {\n    bottle: 20,\n    container: 30,\n    bag: 8\n  }; \/\/ grams per item\n\n  const QUALITY = {\n    low: 0.75,\n    medium: 0.90,\n    high: 1.00\n  };\n\n  const CO2_SAVED_PER_KG = 1.5; \/\/ kg CO2 avoided per kg recycled plastic\n\n  function setError(msg){ errorEl.textContent = msg || \"\"; }\n  function fmt(n){ return (Math.round(n * 10) \/ 10).toLocaleString(undefined,{minimumFractionDigits:1,maximumFractionDigits:1}); }\n\n  function fillFactors(){\n    factorsEl.innerHTML = [\n      `<li><strong>Plastic bottle:<\/strong> ~${WEIGHTS.bottle} g each<\/li>`,\n      `<li><strong>Plastic container:<\/strong> ~${WEIGHTS.container} g each<\/li>`,\n      `<li><strong>Plastic bag:<\/strong> ~${WEIGHTS.bag} g each<\/li>`,\n      `<li><strong>Sorting quality adjustment:<\/strong> low \u00d70.75, medium \u00d70.90, high \u00d71.00<\/li>`,\n      `<li><strong>CO\u2082 savings:<\/strong> ~${CO2_SAVED_PER_KG.toFixed(1)} kg CO\u2082 per kg of recycled plastic<\/li>`\n    ].join(\"\");\n  }\n\n  function barRow(label, pct, kg){\n    const p = Math.max(0, Math.min(100, pct));\n    return `\n      <div class=\"eco-tool__barrow\">\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__barlabel\">${label}<\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__bartrack\"><div class=\"eco-tool__barfill\" style=\"width:${p}%;\"><\/div><\/div>\n        <div class=\"eco-tool__barval\">${fmt(kg)} kg<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    `;\n  }\n\n  function calculate(){\n    setError(\"\");\n\n    const bottles = Number(bottlesEl.value);\n    const containers = Number(containersEl.value);\n    const bags = Number(bagsEl.value);\n    const rate = Number(rateEl.value);\n    const household = Number(householdEl.value);\n    const quality = qualityEl.value;\n\n    const values = [bottles, containers, bags, rate, household];\n    if (values.some(v => !Number.isFinite(v) || v < 0)){\n      setError(\"Please enter valid values.\");\n      resultEl.hidden = true;\n      return;\n    }\n    if (rate > 100){\n      setError(\"Recycling rate cannot be above 100%.\");\n      resultEl.hidden = true;\n      return;\n    }\n    if (household < 1){\n      setError(\"Please enter at least 1 person.\");\n      resultEl.hidden = true;\n      return;\n    }\n\n    const rateFactor = rate \/ 100;\n    const qualityFactor = QUALITY[quality] || QUALITY.medium;\n\n    const bottleKgYear = bottles * 52 * WEIGHTS.bottle \/ 1000 * rateFactor * qualityFactor;\n    const containerKgYear = containers * 52 * WEIGHTS.container \/ 1000 * rateFactor * qualityFactor;\n    const bagKgYear = bags * 52 * WEIGHTS.bag \/ 1000 * rateFactor * qualityFactor;\n\n    const totalKgYear = bottleKgYear + containerKgYear + bagKgYear;\n    const totalKgMonth = totalKgYear \/ 12;\n\n    const co2SavedYear = totalKgYear * CO2_SAVED_PER_KG;\n    const co2SavedPerPerson = co2SavedYear \/ household;\n\n    plasticEl.textContent = `${fmt(totalKgMonth)} kg \/ month`;\n    plasticYearEl.textContent = `${fmt(totalKgYear)} kg \/ year recycled`;\n    co2El.textContent = `${fmt(co2SavedYear)} kg CO\u2082 \/ year`;\n    co2PersonEl.textContent = `${fmt(co2SavedPerPerson)} kg CO\u2082 per person \/ year`;\n\n    const parts = [\n      { label: \"Bottles\", kg: bottleKgYear },\n      { label: \"Containers\", kg: containerKgYear },\n      { label: \"Bags\", kg: bagKgYear }\n    ].sort((a,b)=>b.kg-a.kg);\n\n    const max = Math.max(1, parts[0].kg);\n    barsEl.innerHTML = parts.map(p => barRow(p.label, (p.kg \/ max) * 100, p.kg)).join(\"\");\n\n    if (parts[0].label === \"Containers\") {\n      tipEl.textContent = \"Plastic containers are making the biggest contribution to your recycling impact.\";\n    } else if (parts[0].label === \"Bottles\") {\n      tipEl.textContent = \"Bottle recycling is driving most of your estimated recycling benefit.\";\n    } else {\n      tipEl.textContent = \"Even lightweight plastic bags can add up over a full year.\";\n    }\n\n    resultEl.hidden = false;\n  }\n\n  function reset(){\n    setError(\"\");\n    bottlesEl.value = \"5\";\n    containersEl.value = \"2\";\n    bagsEl.value = \"3\";\n    rateEl.value = \"60\";\n    householdEl.value = \"2\";\n    qualityEl.value = \"medium\";\n    resultEl.hidden = true;\n  }\n\n  fillFactors();\n  calcBtn.addEventListener(\"click\", calculate);\n  resetBtn.addEventListener(\"click\", reset);\n})();\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plastic Recycling Impact Calculator Estimate how much plastic waste and CO\u2082 you could help avoid by recycling common plastic items. Plastic bottlesper week Water, soda, and similar bottles. Plastic containersper&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2432,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2896,"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2893\/revisions\/2896"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nature-o.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}