In the third quarter of 2024, the Northeast Recycling Council reported the blended value of a ton, not counting the negative impact of residuals, was $121.21, up 3% from the second quarter of the year. | Nickpeps/Shutterstock
Average commodity prices rose slightly in the third quarter of the year due to national and regional trends, though the growth appears to be cooling off, according to the latest report from the Northeast Recycling Council. Continue Reading
Proposed tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China could have effects that reverberate from consumer goods to paper packaging. | Chuyuss/Shutterstock
As the January inauguration approaches – and with it the prospect of hefty tariffs on Mexico and Canada – market participants and industry analysts said any potential effects on recycled paper and containerboard markets would largely be indirect. Continue Reading
Ridwell recently added glass to its collection list in Tacoma and Olympia, supplying the material to O-I’s Portland facility and to Strategic Materials. | pjhpix/Shutterstock
Glass is well known in the industry as both easy and challenging to recycling – easy from a technical sense and challenging logistically. That was recently highlighted by multiple developments in western Washington.
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