More demand than supply lifts prices.* The story in recycled plastics is lots of demand, not enough material. Demand for recycled product is high in the U.S. and overseas. While there have been few price hikes since January January: see month. , there hasn't has·n't Contraction of has not. hasn't has not hasn't have been any softening softening /sof·ten·ing/ (sof´en-ing) malacia. softening a change of consistency, with loss of firmness or hardness. , either. Virgin resin resin, any of a class of amorphous solids or semisolids. Resins are found in nature and are chiefly of vegetable origin. They are typically light yellow to dark brown in color; tasteless; odorless or faintly aromatic; translucent or transparent; brittle, fracturing prices are expected to rise in March, and recycled products will be right behind. R-HDPE: Mixed-color boom Since December December: see month. , recycled HDPE HDPE abbr. high-density polyethylene prices rose 7 cents to 9 cents/lb. Renewed attempts to raise virgin prices are expected in March. Spring is also a high-demand time for HDPE--another reason recycled prices are likely to climb. Surprisingly, natural and mixed-color prices are only a penny apart--not the usual scenario. As one source explains, "There are actually more markets for mixed colors. In pipe, for instance, there has been a big conversion to recycled HDPE because of the recent scarcity Scarcity The basic economic problem which arises from people having unlimited wants while there are and always will be limited resources. Because of scarcity, various economic decisions must be made to allocate resources efficiently. of virgin wide-spec resin. That's why mixed-color prices have gone up." R-PP up modestly so far Recycled PP price increases were not as dramatic as for other materials--up just 2cents/lb since December. However, recyclers warn that if exports come back strongly, more hikes are likely. R-PET at a 10-year high R-PET prices are the highest they've they've Contraction of they have. they've have been since 1995. Says one reprocessor, "While demand is growing, we have about the same material supply available to us in 2005 that we did in 1995." Prices went up 9 cents to 10 cents/lb in December and January. R-PS tight, prices up The supply/demand story is similar for recycled PS. "We've got more orders than we've got material," says one reprocessor. Offshore demand is especially intense. One source says he gets at least three calls a day from Asian buyers looking to grab anything he has. Prices are up 3 cents to 6 cents since December. One reason cited for lower supply is greater internal use of regrind by molders and extruders. "The price of virgin has gotten so high that the guy who didn't save his scrap a year ago is now reusing his scrap," another reprocessor says. Pressure may ease a bit when the horticultural hor·ti·cul·ture n. 1. The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants. 2. The cultivation of a garden. demand wanes later in the spring.
RECYCLED RESIN PRICES/
Pellets Flake
cents/lb cents/lb
PET Bottles (Clean)
Clear Post-Consumer 67-72 58-62
Green Post-Consumer 58-62 49-53
HDPE (Clean)
Natural Post-Consumer 48-55 39-42
Mixed Colors 49-54 36-40
Polystyrene
Post-Consumer
High Impact
Black 62-65 48-52
Natural 68-72 --
General Purpose
Black 45-47 38-42
Natural 55-60 42-46
Polypropylene
Post-Industrial 34-40 30-32
Post-Consumer 30-32 --
Polyethylene Film
Post-Consumer
Stretch 28 --
Printed/Mixed 13 --
Post-Industrial
Printed 20 --
Not Printed 24 --
PVC
Post-Industrial
Flexible 32-40 --
Rigid 50-66 --
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