What’s the meaning of “pick-up” in that context?
“Herman Miller sorts twenty-six different waste materials and sends them to be recycled. For half of these materials, the company makes money, since the value of the recaptured scrap is higher than the cost of sorting and PICK-UP. Processing the other half loses money.”
Is it “carrying with trucks”?
“Pick-up” here means collecting. As in “since the value of the recaptured scrap is higher than the cost of sorting and collecting”.
to collect something/somebody
It means sending trucks, loading up the scrap and carrying it off in the trucks. In the context of cost, all of these factors are added into “pick up”; vehicle cost to and from and labor in loading the scrap. “Pick up” would indicated both of these functions.
Not necessarily – pick up just means “collect” in this context