The global plastic policy calculator works out total plastic reduced, producer responsible and schoolbus equivalent from percentage of reduction, incinerated plastics, landfilled plastics, mismanaged plastics, recycled plastics, total incinerated, total landfilled, total mismanaged, total ocean plastic and total recycled. Enter what you have and the relationship is applied straight away, so you get the answer without working through the algebra yourself.
What Is the Global Plastic Policy Calculator?
The global plastic policy calculator works out total plastic reduced, producer responsible and schoolbus equivalent from percentage of reduction, incinerated plastics, landfilled plastics, mismanaged plastics, recycled plastics, total incinerated, total landfilled, total mismanaged, total ocean plastic and total recycled.
Biological relationships are usually approximations rather than exact laws, so the output is best treated as an estimate with a sensible range around it.
How the Global Plastic Policy Calculation Works
The calculation applies the relationship as published, step by step, so each intermediate value can be checked against the underlying theory.
Keep the units consistent throughout. Mixing a percentage with a proportion is the single most common source of an answer that is out by a factor of a hundred.
Assumptions Worth Knowing
Any relationship used here assumes a constant rate, a representative sample, or a stable population. Real populations rarely meet those conditions for long, so treat the answer as a guide.
Where the inputs are field measurements, a single misread value can shift the result noticeably. Measure carefully and record what you used.
A Worked Example
Working through an example, with percentage of reduction set to 10, incinerated plastics set to 5, landfilled plastics set to 2, the calculator returns waste generated of 112, and co2 generated of 84,000, and percent recycled of 4.46. Substitute your own figures and the same steps produce the same kind of answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to work out total plastic reduced?
Enter percentage of reduction, incinerated plastics, landfilled plastics, mismanaged plastics, recycled plastics, total incinerated, total landfilled, total mismanaged, total ocean plastic and total recycled. The calculator then works through the relationship and reports total plastic reduced, producer responsible and schoolbus equivalent.
What does the global plastic policy actually calculate?
It takes percentage of reduction, incinerated plastics, landfilled plastics, mismanaged plastics, recycled plastics, total incinerated, total landfilled, total mismanaged, total ocean plastic and total recycled and converts them into total plastic reduced, producer responsible and schoolbus equivalent using the standard relationship for this problem. Each step is applied in turn, so every output is traceable back to the numbers you typed in.
How should I enter percentage of reduction?
Use the value you actually have, in the unit shown next to the field. Enter every value in the same unit system. The calculator assumes the figures you supply are consistent, so it cannot correct a mistake that happens before the calculation starts.
Why does a small change in one value move the answer so much?
That happens when an output depends on a ratio, because dividing by a small number magnifies any change in it. Check the units first, then check whether the value you entered is in the range the relationship was designed for.
Is the answer exact?
It is as exact as the formula and the inputs allow. The method itself is the standard one for this problem, so the only sources of error are the figures you enter and the precision you ask for.