Theory 203/Waste collection/Threshold lens
Diversion Needs a Contamination Threshold
The claim
Recycling diversion collapses above a threshold in contamination rate, because contaminated streams are rejected wholesale.
01Mechanism
Processors reject loads above a contamination limit; the threshold determines whether the material is recovered.
02Prediction
Diversion should fall sharply above a contamination threshold.
03Refutation
Diversion declining smoothly with contamination would remove the rejection.