Site waste emissions calculator
Enter the tonnes of waste by disposal route and get tonnes of CO2e, using the current DESNZ conversion factors. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill, such as general skip waste.
0 tCO2e
Total waste emissions
0 tCO2e
Tonnes multiplied by the DESNZ 2026 factor, divided by 1,000. Nothing is stored or sent.
The factors used
Kilograms of CO2e per tonne of waste, disposal or treatment only. Source: DESNZ GHG conversion factors 2026, flat file v1.2, revised July 2026, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Published by DESNZ and Defra.
| Waste and route | kg CO2e per tonne | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed waste to landfill | 520.58023 | Commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill, such as general skip waste. |
| Wood to landfill | 925.36725 | Construction wood waste sent to landfill. |
| Inert waste to landfill | 1.27043 | Inert construction waste such as aggregates, bricks and concrete. |
| Mixed waste to energy from waste | 4.65358 | Commercial and industrial waste burnt with energy recovery. |
| Mixed waste recycled | 4.65358 | Commercial and industrial waste in closed-loop recycling. |
Mistakes that move the number
One factor for the whole skip
Wood and mixed waste to landfill sit hundreds of kilograms per tonne above inert waste. Splitting the stream on the transfer note is worth more than any rounding.
Skips counted, not weighed
A skip count turns into tonnes through an assumed weight. Use the weight on the waste transfer note or weighbridge ticket where you have it.
From ticket to reported figure, step by step: from waste ticket to reported tonne.
Questions
How do I calculate CO2e from tonnes of waste?
Multiply the tonnes by the factor for the disposal route, then divide by 1,000. For example, 10 tonnes of mixed waste to landfill at 520.6 kg CO2e per tonne is about 5.2 tonnes CO2e.
Why is inert waste so low and wood so high?
Inert material such as brick and concrete barely breaks down in landfill (1.3 kg CO2e per tonne), while wood decays and releases methane (925 kg CO2e per tonne). Sorting the stream changes the answer far more than the total tonnage does.
Does this include transport to the facility?
No. The factors cover disposal or treatment only. Carrier and skip lorry journeys are a separate calculation, using tonne-kilometres and a freight factor.
Where do the factors come from?
DESNZ GHG conversion factors 2026 (flat file v1.2, revised July 2026), published by DESNZ and Defra under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Where does the tonnage come from?
From waste transfer notes and weighbridge tickets, not from the number of skips. A skip count needs an assumed weight, and that assumption is usually the weakest part of the figure.
Keep the tickets, the tonnes and the total in one place.
MetricOra reads waste transfer notes, checks carriers against the register and shows the calculation behind every tonne reported.