An interactive economic model of a recycling MRF — watch mixed recyclables move down the sorting line into baled commodities, see the gate-fee vs recyclate-sales split, and run the investment case live.
A materials recovery facility (MRF) is paid a gate fee to take mixed recyclables, mechanically sorts them into paper, plastics, metals and glass, and sells the baled recyclate as commodities. The gate-fee leg is a contracted annuity; the commodity leg is highly volatile — recyclate prices swing with global markets — and a slice of the input is residue that costs money to dispose of. The case turns on throughput, the gate fee, and where recyclate prices land.
Year-1 financials flow live from the simulation above: revenue £0 and EBITDA £0 p.a. Set your deal terms below — the unlevered IRR (asset return) and levered IRR (return to equity, after debt) recompute instantly.
Illustrative model. Represents a materials recovery facility (MRF). Revenue = gate fees (tonnes in × gate fee) + recyclate sales (recovered tonnes × commodity price) + a higher-value metals fraction. Operating costs (sorting & operations and residue disposal per tonne, fixed labour and insurance, a maintenance reserve) leave a thin margin that is highly sensitive to commodity prices — at low recyclate prices the plant can run at a loss (the model then shows it is too thin to value). EBITDA = revenue − operating costs; excludes upfront construction capex. The investment case is a simplified DCF. For illustration only — not investment advice, and not any specific asset.