Abstract: In the recycling of waste products, their sorting can effectively improve the processing efficiency of waste products. To analyse the impact of sorting on waste product recycling, a game model for waste product recycling is established based on four scenarios: no sorting, processors responsible for sorting, recyclers responsible for sorting, and centralised decision making. Based on the optimal solutions in the four scenarios, first, the boundary conditions under which processors and recyclers are willing to take responsibility for classified recycling are identified; second, the impact of classified recycling on the per-unit commission price, per-unit recycling price, recycling volume, and waste product revenue in the different scenarios is compared and analysed; finally, based on the revenue impact of decentralised and centralised decision making, a cost-benefit sharing contract is used to provide a coordination mechanism for decentralised decision making. It is found that within the limits where processors and recyclers are willing to sort, sorting can not only reduce the cost of recycling for processors, but also increase the revenue of both processors and recyclers; in the case of centralised decision making, segregated recycling can increase the total revenue of the recycling channel; in the case of decentralised decision making, the benefits of decentralised decision making can be achieved through a cost-benefit sharing contract to achieve the benefits of centralised decision making.

Key words: classified recycling; processor; recycler; game theory