U.S. recovered fiber exports fell by roughly 3 million tons from 2018 to 2019. | StockStudio Aerials/Shutterstock
In 2019, recovered fiber exports from the United States experienced their largest year-over-year decline on record. U.S. scrap plastic exports also continued a substantial fall.
Lower recovered metals prices hurt revenue at a waste-to-energy company, and a group urges a major magazine to use recycled paper.
Despite a year of market uncertainty, U.S. recovered paper exports increased in 2018, driven largely by OCC shipments. However, scrap plastic exports fell substantially as countries enacted stringent trade policies.
Recovered materials processors have received a little holiday cheer. The value of most recyclables moved higher at the start of this month.
The growing smiles you see among recycling collectors and processors are because of continuing market improvement.
The value of curbside-collected paper and steel is down slightly at the start of April, though some plastics have experienced boosts.
As May begins, recovered HDPE bale prices have slid, making operators of packaging sorting plants a bit glum.
UNICOR, also known as Federal Prison Industries, has shut down its electronics recycling facilities at several prisons across the country, leaving a sizable gap in the U.S. e-scrap recycling chain.
Rebuts solides Canadiens said it can no longer find a market for recovered paper produced at its Quebec MRFs. | Catherine Zibo/Shutterstock
Update: Quebec government officials say they’ve reached an agreement with Rebuts Solides Canadiens to continue services until another operator can be found.
A Canadian MRF operator will stop operating multiple facilities across Quebec in the near future, citing a lack of end markets for a key recyclable.
The past few months have seen significant upticks in the value of recovered materials.