As goes the economy, so goes the recycling markets. Have you heard any grumbling yet from the companies that collect your recyclables? The market for recyclables such as cardboard, plastic, newspaper, mixed paper and metals has collapsed. Waste collectors under contract to collect your recyclables for a fixed price are taking a beating and you may too once your waste collection contract comes up for renewal. Those collecting recyclables have been forced to accept rock-bottom prices or even pay to get rid of them. Some are storing their recyclables in warehouses, hoping that the market will turn around soon.
Why has the market gotten so bad? According to a recent New York Times article, one reason prices have slid so rapidly is that demand from countries such as China, the biggest export market for recyclables from the United States, quickly dried up as the global economy slowed. Most recyclables shipped to Asia are transformed into products that are shipped back to the United States to be sold. Of course we all know that Americans have mostly stopped buying items potentially made from recyclables or that come in boxes made from recycled paper fibers.
In the past, contractors made recycling easy because there was money to be made, but the drop in prices has made profits shrink, or even disappear. Some companies have stopped accepting certain types of recyclables. Fortunately, it is still less expensive to recycle than to send items to a landfill. It certainly is better for the environment and is a responsible business practice. I would not recommend backing away from recycling; the markets will eventually rebound.
Experts’ Input on Price Trends
I spoke with two representatives of the National Solid Waste Management Association (NSWMA) and checked other sources to learn just how bad the prices are for recyclables. This is what I found:
“All of the markets have been turned upside down,” says Tom Metzger, director of public affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based NSWMA.
According to Bruce Parker, president and CEO of the association, mixed paper in October was selling for $120 a ton. Today, recyclers have to pay $10 a ton to unload it. Newspaper was getting $150 to $170 a ton but that is now down to $55 to $60 a ton. Corrugated cardboard was at $150 a ton in October; that is now down to $10 a ton. The aforementioned New York Times article reported that tin was worth more than $300 a ton earlier this year; it is now down to just $5 a ton.
According to an article published by The Associated Press, the price for plastic bottles has dropped from 25 cents to 2 cents a pound and the price for aluminum cans has fallen by 50 percent to about 40 cents a pound. Scrap metal, once at $525 a gross ton earlier this fall, is now down to about $100.
“The glass market—green and brown glass—has been holding up pretty well,” Parker says.
Parker explained that this is not the first time there has been a deep recline in the recycling market. It happened in 1974 and lasted seven to nine months and again in 1995 when there was overcapacity and not enough demand. “We have never seen anything like this before,” he says, however.
Looking ahead toward 2009 and 2010, Parker is optimistic that the market will rebound.
“I am personally hopeful,” he says. “We are starting to see a little upward movement of metals. This is not going to last forever. It never does. But we are concerned about recyclers in the meantime and America’s recycling infrastructure.”
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