Materials recovery facility (MRF) operators shared their insights in a session at this year’s Resource Recycling Conference, held virtually in August.
Running a successful materials recovery facility (MRF) means adapting to a changing stream, investing to upgrade equipment and navigating end market uncertainty. Three prominent MRF leaders recently shared how they’re approaching these challenges.
After steadily rising this year, prices for several grades of post-consumer plastic seem to have plateaued this month.
Greystone Logistics recycles about 88 million pounds of post-consumer HDPE per year into plastic pallets. | Freedomz / Shutterstock
A major manufacturer of recycled-polyethylene pallets experienced lower sales and income figures in the last year, but company leadership was pleased with the numbers given the myriad market challenges of late.
Bales of recovered PET and HDPE have increased in value this month, with natural HDPE hitting another record high.
Sellers of recycled plastics have continued to enjoy strong markets, with virtually all grades seeing value boosts from June to July.
S&P Global Platts will now provide daily price assessments for an expanded range of recycled plastics. | Things / Shutterstock
After rolling out a recovered PET price tracking service last year, S&P Global Platts is now reporting prices for recovered HDPE, LDPE and PP.
The price of post-consumer PET bales rose 37% over the past month. Meanwhile, the price of natural HDPE scrap crossed the $1 threshold for the first time.
End users in the decking and insulation markets reported using more recycled content in 2020. | saravutpics / Shutterstock
Composite decking producer Azek leveraged more recycled material in its 2020 fiscal year, and insulation manufacturer Kingspan reported that it’s now taking in RPET.
EFS-plastics described how virgin resin pricing and other factors are impacting the recycling sector. | Ann Moore / Shutterstock
The mixed-plastics processing sector is seeing supply challenges from product labeling changes and could be significantly disrupted by chemical recycling initiatives, according to one processor.
Prices for curbside plastic bales shot up over the past month, with PET bottles jumping by nearly one-third and natural HDPE notching another record.