As we enter 2018, the market for most plastic packaging collected at the curb remains unchanged, although PP prices recently took a jump.
The current national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars is 13.77 cents per pound, virtually unchanged since Dec. 6, when it was trading at 13.59 cents per pound. Six months ago, this grade was trading 13 percent higher, at 15.74 cents per pound. Comparatively, PET was trading 25 percent lower one year ago, at 11.03 cents per pound in early January 2017.
The current national average for post-consumer natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from curbside collection programs remains virtually unchanged over the past month. It went from 30.13 cents per pound to the current price of 29.97 cents per pound. Color HDPE also dropped slightly from 15.81 cents per pound last month to 15.03 cents per pound in early January 2018.
Meanwhile, post-consumer polypropylene (PP) has taken a sudden 24 percent jump in the new year, from 6.75 to 8.38 cents per pound. Post-consumer film, commingled and rigid grades remain unchanged.
These prices are as reported on the Secondary Materials Pricing (SMP) Index. This pricing represents what is being paid for post-consumer recyclable materials in a sorted, baled format, picked up at most major recycling centers.
For a free trial to the Secondary Materials Pricing (SMP) Online Post-Consumer Plastics Pricing Index, visit the Recycling Markets website. You can also contact Christina Boulanger-Bosley at cmb@recyclingmarkets.net or 330-956-8911.
