Five numbers cover waste performance: diversion rate, waste intensity, contamination rate, Scope 3 Category 5 emissions and cost per tonne. All five start from the same record: the weight, type and destination of every collection. The formulas are in the table below, followed by a board report filled in with one real quarter.
An ESG report covers a company's environmental, social and governance record, and waste sits under environmental. Diversion means keeping waste out of landfill, by recycling, composting or reusing it. Scope 3 counts emissions you cause but do not control, like the gas your landfilled waste gives off.
Each of the five KPIs has one formula
| KPI | Formula | What you need to compute it |
|---|---|---|
| Diversion rate | Waste kept out of landfill ÷ total waste generated × 100 | The weight of every pickup, and where each one went |
| Waste intensity | Total waste generated ÷ one measure of business activity | Total weight, plus a measure you keep the same every period: staff, floor area, room-nights, meals served or units made |
| Contamination rate | Contaminated recyclables ÷ total recyclables collected × 100 | A weighed sample of your recycling bins, checked before collection |
| Scope 3 Category 5 emissions | For each waste type: tonnes × the emission factor for its disposal method. Then add the results | Weight by waste type and disposal method, plus a published factor set, named with its edition |
| Cost per tonne | (Total waste spend − recycling rebates) ÷ total waste generated | Collection, disposal and bin invoices, rebate statements and total weight |
Work in tonnes, not bin counts. Scope 3 Category 5 is the GHG Protocol's name for emissions from waste generated in operations. The GHG Protocol is a widely used global rulebook for counting a company's carbon emissions. An emission factor turns a tonne of waste into its estimated carbon, in tCO2e. The unit tCO2e means tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent: every greenhouse gas counted as CO2.
For waste intensity, pick one measure and keep it. Change it part-way and last year's figure no longer compares.
For contamination, sample your recycling bins before collection and weigh what should not be there. A sample each quarter is enough to show a trend.
For cost per tonne, subtract what your recyclables earn. That is your rebate: your share of what recyclers pay for your separated recyclables. Our recycling rebate guide lists indicative ranges by material.
Three mistakes distort a diversion rate
- Counting waste-to-energy as diversion without saying so. The GRI waste standard lists incineration with energy recovery under disposal. GRI, the Global Reporting Initiative, publishes a common rulebook for sustainability reports. Report waste-to-energy on its own line.
- Counting waste you never made. Diversion covers waste that was generated and then kept out of landfill. Waste you avoided is a separate measure.
- Measuring by volume. A bin of cardboard weighs far less than a bin of food waste. Use weight.
This is the board table filled in with one real quarter
The table uses real figures. They are from a retail mall client's report for Q2 2026 (April to June), published with the client's permission. The same report's on-time record is on our total waste management page: in June, 41 of 43 scheduled pickups arrived on the promised day.
| KPI | April | May | June | Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sent to landfill (t) | 33.50 | 37.99 | 40.02 | 111.51 |
| Recycled (t) | 2.40 | 1.62 | 1.31 | 5.33 |
| Waste generated (t): landfill + recycled | 33.50 + 2.40 = 35.90 | 37.99 + 1.62 = 39.61 | 40.02 + 1.31 = 41.33 | 111.51 + 5.33 = 116.84 |
| Diversion rate: recycled ÷ generated | 2.40 ÷ 35.90 = 6.7% | 1.62 ÷ 39.61 = 4.1% | 1.31 ÷ 41.33 = 3.2% | 5.33 ÷ 116.84 = 4.6% |
| Scope 3 Category 5, estimated (tCO2e): landfill × 0.5206 + recycled × 0.0047 | 17.5 | 19.8 | 20.8 | 58.1 |
| Waste intensity | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| Contamination rate | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| Cost per tonne (RM) | ____ | ____ | ____ | ____ |
Every derived row shows its working. Waste generated is landfill plus recycled. The diversion rate is recycled divided by generated.
The diversion rate dropped each month: 6.7%, then 4.1%, then 3.2%. The table shows it as it was. A report where every figure improves reads as marketing, not measurement.
The Scope 3 row is an estimate, worked out from the weighed tonnes. The two factors come from the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2026 edition). They are tCO2e per tonne of commercial waste landfilled and per tonne recycled. Our guide to waste data for ESG reports writes that sum out and shows the records behind it.
On-time collection is a sixth figure worth a row. This report has it: 81.0% in April, 93.2% in May and 95.3% in June. Trips with no scheduled-job reference sit outside that count.
The report carried no waste intensity, contamination rate or cost per tonne. Those three rows are blank for your own figures.
A board needs the trend and the working
- Lead with the trend across periods, not one figure.
- Show intensity beside the tonnes. A growing business can make more waste and still waste less per unit.
- Say how each figure was worked out, as the table does.
- If your company is listed, say which figures feed your sustainability report.
Measured rates vary with what is in the bins
A realistic rate depends on what you throw away. Three measured GarGeon client figures show the spread.
| Site | Measured rate |
|---|---|
| A retail mall client, Q2 2026 | 4.6% |
| Meewah, a vegetable wholesaler | 8% |
| Signature Market, an e-commerce company, 2025 | 73.69% |
The highest, Signature Market, has waste that is mostly carton. Malaysia's national recycling rate was 37.9% in 2024. Treat that as context, not a pass mark. Judge your progress against your own weighed baseline.
We can put these KPIs on your own sites
GarGeon logs each pickup with a photo, a timestamp and the weight, then adds the records up into your monthly and quarterly figures. One contract can cover collection, recycling and reporting for every site you run. That is total waste management. Our sustainability reporting page shows what the reports contain. To start, book a consultation.
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