Diversion rate

Definition

The share of a load recycled or donated instead of landfilled, which lowers tipping cost.

Why It Matters

It is the one lever a hauler has against a rising tipping fee, and it is increasingly what a commercial or municipal customer asks for before signing anything. A yard that sorts, a standing buyer for scrap metal, and a reuse charity turn a pure cost line into a smaller one with a little revenue behind it. Ask what the diversion rate is, whether anyone measures it at all, and whether any contract requires reporting it, because a customer who asks for the number is a customer who can leave over it.