The blended value of a ton of recyclables in the Northeast U.S. has dropped by about one-fifth, a MRF survey shows.
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) reports the average value of a ton of recyclables, not counting the negative value of residuals, was $41.55 during the third quarter of 2019. That was down from $51.65 in the second quarter, or a drop of 20%.
The blended value of a ton of recyclables (counting residuals) was $34.85 during the third quarter. That was down from $45.83 during the second quarter, a drop of 24%.
Meanwhile, NERC’s report covering the July-to-September time frame estimates the cost to sort and bale a ton of recyclables was $83. That was up slightly from the estimated processing cost of $82 for the full year of 2018.
The data comes from a survey of over a dozen publicly owned or operated MRFs in 10 Northeast states. NERC released the first survey results in August 2019.
Glass resources
Meanwhile, NERC’s Glass Committee recently developed two resources on glass recycling: a glass recovery hierarchy and Glass Bottle & Fiberglass Manufacturers’ Use of Cullet document.
The hierarchy prioritizes glass management options for post-consumer glass, and the second document compiles responses from Northeast manufacturers about their use of cullet.
