Who’s Still Recycling?

At the end of 2008, demand for recycled raw material came to a stretching halt. For years, the cry for recycled product grew and end users were somewhat wiling to even pay a premium for paper made from post consumer recycled material. If fact, End users were demanding post-consumer waste be included as part of their sustainability efforts. Even though prices for recycled commodities such as corrugated, plastics, paper, steel and aluminum were at all-time highs, they were competitive with virgin materials.

Virtually overnight, prices for these recycled materials dropped 70 to 90 percent, depending on local markets. 
Recycled-plastic bottles have gone from 25 cents per pound to 2 cents per pound. Old corrugated containers have dropped from nearly $110 per ton to $10 per ton— if it can be sold at all. Inventories are building up at recycling centers, warehouses and docks. Unfortunately, many of these materials are likely to end up in landfills, where their potential for reuse will be buried. We now wonder what will happen to paper prices that contain post consumer waste.