Although third quarter revenues reached record levels for some of the nation’s top five haulers, plummeting OCC pricing in October was an indicator for commodity values heading into 2025. | 2p2play/Shutterstock
Third-quarter commodity prices contributed to record quarterly revenues and margins for several of North America’s largest publicly traded garbage and recycling companies, according to recent financial disclosures. But that has changed moving into the final stretch of the year.
North American fiber end markets saw stronger demand and expect declining costs in the near term. | DenisNata/Shutterstock
Major North American recovered fiber end users saw stronger containerboard demand during the third quarter of the year, according to recent earnings calls. Most are also projecting declining recovered fiber costs through the end of the year. Continue Reading
In more evidence of a market shift, OCC and mixed paper are both fetching lower prices than they were last month, reversing the upward trend of the past couple years. But both fiber grades are still trading at or above their values a year ago.
Rebound members can now trade more recycled materials on the platform, including plastics, metal, glass, OCC and e-scrap. | New Africa/Shutterstock
After starting in plastics, an online recycled material trading platform is expanding into glass, metal, rubber, OCC and paper and will soon add e-scrap. Continue Reading
A natural disaster and a potentially catastrophic dockworker strike have highlighted weaknesses in the supply chain. | TajdidProtik/Shutterstock
In the past two weeks, the U.S. East Coast has experienced the double punch of a massive port strike and a devastating hurricane, exacerbating already uncertain market fundamentals. While the dockworker strike was very brief, storm-related destruction in the Southeast will last for weeks – if not months or years.
Global overcapacity and ongoing economic uncertainty will continue in the near term, Fastmarkets panelists said, with implications for both virgin and recycled paper. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Although the North American containerboard market saw a surge of new recycling machines in 2023, producers are waiting to see how the market develops before investing in new capacity, according to experts at Fastmarkets. Continue Reading
Average prices for blended residential commodities rose by 5% to 6% during the quarter, according to data collected from 15 MRFs in the Northeast. | Nordroden/Shutterstock
Average commodity prices for April-June 2024 were higher by about 40% on the year, marking their highest level since the second quarter of 2022, according to the latest MRF Values Survey Report from the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading
Baled clamshells in Ridwell’s Portland facility on Aug. 15, 2024, awaiting shipment to a downstream processor. | Marissa Heffernan/Resource Recycling.
As more consumers turn a skeptical eye to traditional recycling programs, Ridwell, a company that provides curbside collection of hard-to-recycle materials, is growing into numerous markets across the country. And the company is doing it with transparency in mind. Continue Reading
Five large publicly traded North American haulers recently reported their second-quarter earnings. | LV Olga/Shutterstock
Rising commodity prices were a boon for major recycling operators in the second quarter of the year, and they’re now anticipating better full-year results than they initially expected.
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Although overall PCR usage dropped in 2023, Novolex’s paper segment reached its highest share of recycled content since 2020. | Photo Courtesy of Novolex
Packaging producer Novolex reported slightly lower post-consumer recycled content usage in its plastic products for 2023, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.