Over $500,000 was awarded to nine local governments and one university to support local markets for recovered materials. | Jeffrey B. Banke/Shutterstock
A new recycling development center in the Pacific Northwest has issued over half a million dollars in grants to help boost domestic markets for recyclables.
Prices for a slew of curbside recyclables – OCC, UBCs, PET, HDPE and PP – all surged over the past month, bringing good news for MRFs.
Several companies forecast that fiber costs will continue to rise throughout 2021. | sylv1rob1/Shutterstock
Paper mill operators anticipate strong demand for corrugated packaging will continue to drive up prices for recovered fiber, according to recent earnings calls.
The past month has been marked by value boosts for recovered PET, HDPE and PP. Fiber grades recovered in curbside programs, however, have been flat or slightly down.
A senior economist at recovered paper research firm RISI recently spoke on the forces driving the OCC market. | Quang Ho/Shutterstock
The end of 2020 was marked by promising recovered fiber prices. An analyst says that’s due to strong domestic and international demand, despite China’s move to cease buying.
PRI is the latest company to open North American capacity for e-plastics. | Courtesy of Plastics Recycling, Inc.
Indianapolis-based Plastic Recycling, Inc. has expanded with a project that underscores the opportunities and complexities in recycling plastics from scrap electronics.
Prices for curbside recyclables are either up or flat this month, with some key materials seeing surging values. For example, OCC rose 14% during the past month.
With fewer available drivers comes less available trucking supply, leading to higher prices and potential disruptions in trucking availability for those in the recycling industry. | Vitpho/Shutterstock
A driver shortage that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to create challenges for moving recyclables this year, analysts say.
COVID-19 and pricing pressure led companies to seek other supply lines for PET feedstock. | Pixel B/Shutterstock
A confluence of recycled PET market disruptions in 2020 included low prime plastic pricing and supply challenges that led end users to seek feedstock from other sources. Still, experts maintain a surge of RPET demand is fast approaching.
As the year comes to a close, MRFs are largely seeing good news across the board, fetching higher prices for OCC, mixed paper, aluminum, natural HDPE and other materials.