China’s import policy changes are straining recovered plastics export markets, particularly impacting mixed rigids. Recycling companies have been forced to stockpile and even landfill the materials, while numerous municipal programs have stopped accepting mixed plastics.
Michael Stephen, Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association
Recyclers depend for their survival on demand for plastic products made with their recyclate, but plastic is under attack from environmentalists, and line after line – and sometimes whole factories – are closing.
Over the past month, recovered PET and film values have fallen, but HDPE grades have seen slight increases.
Earlier this year, ABC, the national government broadcaster in Australia, ran a series of programs called “War on Waste.” These shows were dedicated to putting the huge amount of waste generated in the forefront of people’s thinking.
As we enter 2018, the market for most plastic packaging collected at the curb remains unchanged, although PP prices recently took a jump.
Prices for natural HDPE bales have increased over the past month, but markets for other recovered plastics have been relatively flat. Mixed-plastic bales continue to trade at record low prices.
At the 2018 Waste Management Sustainability Forum earlier this month, the leader of a startup called Zipline presented an idea that was quite outside the realm of recycling but that could nevertheless help to inspire our industry’s sense of strategic thinking.
When it comes to scrap plastics exports, 2017 was a tale of two years, with China’s import restrictions altering global patterns for the material.
The 13th annual Plastics Recycling Conference, taking place this week in Tennessee, has brought together nearly 2,000 sector executives. That record-high number is a sign of the widespread industry thirst for connection and guidance at a time of unprecedented market disruption.
Both dry and wet de-labeling systems are helping CarbonLite’s new PET recycling facility overcome challenges from problematic bottle labels.