Question

The citizens of Knoxville are complaining that the two pickle-makers in town, 'Crunchy Ponds pickles' and 'Sweet Rose pickles', are polluting the environment. Currently, each pickle-maker emits 20 tons of pollution per year. 'Crunchy Ponds pickles' could clean the pollution at a cost of 500 per ton. 'Sweet Rose pickles' could also clean the pollution, but a cost of 1,100 per ton. In an effort to reduce pollution, the government of Knoxville decrees that from now on, each pickle factory has to reduce pollution to 10 tons per year each, or else. What is the cost of reducing pollution to the desired levels?

Answer 1

The cost of reducing pollution to the desired levels for both pickle factories is $16,000.

Step-by-step explanation:

To reduce pollution to the desired levels, each pickle factory needs to reduce its emissions from 20 tons to 10 tons per year. 'Crunchy Ponds Pickles' can clean the pollution at a cost of $500 per ton, while 'Sweet Rose Pickles' can clean it at a cost of $1,100 per ton. Therefore, the cost of reducing pollution to the desired levels for each factory is as follows:

'Crunchy Ponds pickles': $500/ton x (20 tons - 10 tons) = $5,000

'Sweet Rose pickles': $1,100/ton x (20 tons - 10 tons) = $11,000

The total cost of reducing pollution to the desired levels for both factories is $5,000 + $11,000 = $16,000.