Graphic Packaging closed down its Santa Clara, Calif. facility in early December. Photo: Google Maps
Graphic Packaging closed its Santa Clara, Calif. recycled paperboard mill at the beginning of December, citing high costs and market volatility as contributing to the decision.
Data from the sale of recyclable plastic bottles and aluminum cans in early December suggest the value of recovered packaging will end the year in a slightly weak position.
Republic Services reported higher recycling revenues during the third quarter, and it expects its acquisition of MRF operator ReCommunity will boost tonnages it processes by about half going forward.
More than three months after China announced it will restrict recyclables imports, key details on logistics and timing of the new regulations remain unknown. But industry associations are piecing together some more concrete facts.
A confluence of factors has led logistics experts to predict that American firms, including those in the recycling industry, will experience higher over-the-road shipping costs in the next six months.
When it began facing constricted fiber exports to China, Waste Management adapted by selling into alternative markets. As a result, it has been able to avoid stockpiling or landfilling recyclables, company CEO Jim Fish said.
MRF operators are increasing their labor forces and installing additional sorting equipment in response to Chinese restrictions on scrap imports. At the same time, a standard ton of single-stream recyclables in the U.S. has dropped in value by roughly 50 percent in recent weeks.
Global packaging producer Sonoco recycled the equivalent of 57 percent of the packaging it placed on the market last year.
