Toronto-based waste management provider GFL Environmental reported a milestone in its quest to grow its U.S. presence.
Toronto-based waste management provider GFL Environmental reported a milestone in its quest to grow its U.S. presence.
The waste sector’s biggest companies extended their recycling business rebound into the second half of this year, helped by higher fiber prices.
Recycling processors know that 2020 ended strongly when it comes to commodity values. Two recent surveys quantify the blended-value boost.
Higher commodity prices boosted recycling revenues for Waste Management, Republic Services and North America’s other largest haulers last year, according to earnings reports.
Lower commodity prices continued to batter recycling revenues for the largest garbage and recycling companies last year. But recent moves to charge communities for MRF processing helped soften the financial blow.
GFL Environmental reported the first-quarter average recyclables price was down 32% year over year. But since then, the price has increased, with OCC hitting $200 a ton in some areas.
Two large publicly held waste and recycling companies are taking in higher residential volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they say contamination has been flat. Recently, they’ve also started seeing critical upticks on the commercial side.
Republic Services spent $34 million on equipment upgrades at its recycling facilities last year, and it closed 12 MRFs in a consolidation effort.
A containerboard mill using entirely OCC and mixed paper is in development in Utah. The project stands as a rare case of a recycling company expanding into the end market sector.