In the Northeast, recycled commodity prices continued to decline in April-June, with MRFs experiencing an average decrease of nearly 6% compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) second-quarter MRF Values Survey Report.
NERC’s 25th quarterly report analyzed data from 19 MRFs across 12 states, excluding two facilities from the average blended value “because they did not market enough commodities within Q2 to provide a representative comparison with other MRFs.”
Compared to the previous quarter, the responding MRFs reported average values per ton for blended recyclables with residuals at $82.68, a decrease of 7.74%, or $96.21 per ton, a 5.99% decline without residuals. Thirteen of the 17 MRFs contributing to the weighted average were single-stream, while four operated on a dual-stream/source-separated basis.
In the Northeast, dual-stream facilities reported a blended value of $99.74 without residuals and $86.52 including residuals, experiencing decreases of 7% and 7.16% from the previous quarter, respectively. Single-stream MRFs recorded blended values of $95.08 without residuals, down 5.7%, and $81.28,down 8.3%, with residuals.
Factors such as tariffs and weak demand have led major waste haulers to adjust their forecasts, anticipating challenges due to economic uncertainty for the remainder of 2025.
This dip in commodity prices was reflected in second-quarter earnings reports, with four companies reporting an average year-over-year decrease of 15% in commodity values.
Houston-based WM projected a $15 million decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization due to softening demand.
However, the emergence of new and upgraded polymer facilities is enhancing processing capabilities, driven by the expectation of high demand for recycled PET.
A version of this story appeared in Resource Recycling on Sept 9.
