Glass
Glass prices have mostly been stable this month, with the exception of a slight drop in mixed bottle and an increase in MRF glass other. Our sources reported that there is currently good demand across the grades.
This month, letsrecycle.com reported that Recresco had its accreditation suspended for the reprocessing of “Glass Other” at its Ellesmere Port site, following an Environment Agency site visit earlier this year. This means that there is more of this material looking for reprocessing capacity in the UK.
View our more detailed glass price index here.
Metals
Metals prices have general been flat to declining across most grades this month. Aluminium prices have been influenced by a reduction in the London Metal Exchange (LME) following the highs seen earlier in the year, experiencing a more significant drop. They have also been impacted by healthy stock levels, with summer shutdowns at smelters reducing demand. For steel cans, freight costs remain a challenge, while weaker European demand continues to put pressure on prices. It is expected that prices will continue to come down into August.
View our more detailed metal price index here.
Organics
Anaerobic digestion (AD) prices have moved further into gate fee territory this month, as processing capacity comes under increasing pressure. The recent hot weather has contributed to higher volumes of food waste after widespread freezer failures across supermarkets, prompting the Environment Agency (EA) to work with the sector to ensure sufficient treatment capacity. While the EA has stressed that these additional volumes represent only a small proportion of the UK’s annual food waste arisings, the disruption has highlighted the limited spare capacity within the AD sector.
Operators have already reported facilities nearing maximum throughput following the rollout of mandatory household food waste collections under Simpler Recycling, and the increase in food waste has added further pressure to an already constrained market.
View our more detailed organics price index here.
Plastics
After a period of sustained growth, plastics prices appear to be stabilising, with only a modest increase recorded in July. This uplift, particularly in higher-quality film grades and materials such as mixed bottles, has been partly attributed to the strengthening value of the plastics PRN, which is currently trading at just over £400.
The higher PRN value has provided important support to recycled plastics prices at a time when falling oil prices, driven by greater stability in the Middle East earlier in the month, reduced demand for recycled materials by making virgin plastics more competitive. More recently, however, renewed geopolitical uncertainty has returned to the region, making the outlook for plastics prices less predictable.
Many of those in the sector believe plastics prices may now have reached their peak, particularly for grades such as PET, where some recyclers have already reported softening values. Looking ahead, there is a view that prices could come under further pressure as the market moves into August, when seasonal shutdowns at plastics recycling facilities across Europe are expected to reduce demand and contribute to a downward trend in pricing.
View our more detailed plastics price index here.
Textiles
Prices have remained stable this month, but this is likely to change in the coming few months. Merchants are reporting that they have been affected by the Environment Agency’s new regulations around the sorting and exporting of textiles. The extra checks have resulted in increasing costs.
At the same time, SATCoL has dropped its textile bank contract with Morrisons, meaning that other merchants have been picking up parts of the contract and are looking for additional capacity at a time where they are already constrained.
View our more detailed textiles price index here.
Wood
The wood market has remained challenging this month, with an abundance of waste wood in circulation and some sites beginning to restrict incoming volumes as a result. Seasonal factors are also playing a role, as this time of year typically sees planned downtime at a number of end-use facilities, reducing demand for material compared with other periods.
Recycling sites are currently operating with high stock levels and, in many cases, have limited remaining capacity. This has further reduced appetite for additional waste wood feedstock, creating a more difficult market for suppliers looking to move material.
As a result of these capacity constraints and softer demand, disposal costs have continued to rise, with suppliers increasingly having to pay more to place wood material. Unless demand improves or stock levels begin to reduce, the market is likely to remain under pressure in the short term.
View our more detailed wood price index here.
