Prices for OCC and aluminum cans continue to take a beating, and natural HDPE is now experiencing a slump as well. On a brighter note, PET has remained steady.
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Prices for OCC and aluminum cans continue to take a beating, and natural HDPE is now experiencing a slump as well. On a brighter note, PET has remained steady.
This story has been updated.
The Indian government says it will ban scrap plastic imports, a move that threatens to further disrupt the U.S. recycling industry by closing a growing market.
A Pacific Northwest paper mill will significantly increase its OCC consumption, and a 100 percent recycled fiber end user is building a new manufacturing facility for paper packaging products.
In late 2018, officials in the city of Walla Walla, Wash. (population 32,000) issued a report that showed the economics of the city’s single-stream curbside recycling program turned upside down over the course of 18 months.
As the graph below indicates, the city went from earning up to $30 per ton for recyclables in early 2017 to paying as much as $100 per ton a year later. Over the course of 2018, the city’s program lost a total of $130,000.
Walla Walla, which attributed the financial flip primarily to China’s National Sword import policy, has instituted a monthly recycling surcharge on resident bills to help get the program back on solid financial footing. The city’s program collects standard fiber items and plastics Nos. 1 and 2. It does not accept glass.
Data source: City of Walla Walla, Wash.
This article originally appeared in the February 2019 issue of Resource Recycling. Subscribe today for access to all print content.
Casella Waste Systems and Advanced Disposal Services, two of the larger garbage and recycling companies in North America, experienced tumbling recycling revenues last year.
China’s scrap import restrictions and their rippling market effects pared recycling revenues for Waste Management and Waste Connections last year.
China has decreased purchases of old corrugated containers, which has caused domestic and export prices for the key fiber grade to fall.
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Recycling revenues fell last year for one major hauler, hampered by China’s import restrictions and low fiber prices. Meanwhile, the company opened what it calls a next-generation MRF in Texas.
Recovered fiber and aluminum prices have taken a beating over the past month, but a key plastic grade, PET, has shown stability.
Disruptions in global recycling markets continued to hurt recycling revenues for Waste Management and Republic Services. Meanwhile, both companies mitigated the pain by charging customers new recycling fees.