Glass
It was a fairly flat month for the sector.
This month has seen prices for MRF other (aggregates) stabilise this month after significant decreases in August. This was attributed to the loss of accreditation for this grade at Recresco. The remelt price has seen continued price support from the PRN and this month increased by £5 per tonne on the top end.
Meanwhile, green bottle prices continue to dip to a range of £5 to £26. Mixed bottle was stable this month and stuck at a range of £5 to £36 per tonne.
Overall, there is a lot of material moving through the system, and higher demand for product than usual.
View our more detailed glass price index here.
Metals
The metals market has been relatively stable this month, with prices overall increasing or staying stable. The London Metal Exchange (LME) pricing held fairly stable through September after some larger jumps earlier in the year.
Continued smelter shutdowns across Europe had limited the increase in aluminium can prices, despite otherwise firmer conditions.
The export market has remained prominent for steel cans, supporting a marginal rise in domestic prices. The steel PRN price has also been moving upwards, providing additional support to the market.
Non-ferrous metals have continued to recover, with copper and brass grades continuing their particularly strong growth.
View our more detailed metal price index here.
Organics
The organics market has continued to move towards gate fees this month, as increasing volumes of food waste look for outlets following the rollout of mandatory household food waste collections under Simpler Recycling.
Available processing capacity remains highly constrained, with anaerobic digestion infrastructure under pressure. With no major projects expected to significantly increase capacity in the near term, further pressure is likely to be placed on available outlets as more food waste enters the market.
View our more detailed organics price index here.
Plastics
The plastics market remains stable this month with the high price of the plastics PRN continuing to provide significant price support and putting further upward pressure on prices for most grades.
This support has been particularly important for grades such as PET, for which demand is very subdued.
Those in the sector are now waiting to see if Defra/the Environment Agency will intervene on PRNs, following pressure from producers over high costs.
View our more detailed plastics price index here.
Textiles
It has been a more stable month for textile prices, with only the HWRC bottom range dropping by £5 to a gate fee of £10 per tonne.
The second-hand textiles sector has continued to face tough economic conditions in recent years.
The industry is being flooded by “ultra-fast fashion” produced by brands like Shein and Temu which has reduced the quality of second-hand clothing while at the same time increasing supply.
At the same time, end markets such as those in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have been disrupted due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing Iran-US conflict.
Most recently, the Environment Agency introduced strict new rules around the export of used textiles, meaning merchants are having to dedicate extra resources to sorting processes.
The industry is also looking at substantial clear-up costs for fly tipping around textile banks as they struggle to keep up with the demand for collections.
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.
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