BIR told that smaller plastics recyclers have more chance of success

Mr Daalder, who chairs the plastics round table, said that in Western Europe, the closure or bankruptcy of big firms was a regular occurrence, and this did not have a positive effect on the market.

It was possible, said Mr Daalder, to process some 2,000 tonnes a year employing an investment of 50,000 euros. Larger enterprises, however, would invest around 10 million euros in a single plant capable of processing 20,000 tonnes annually, expecting to compete with the small recyclers. “This was exactly where they went wrong. It was increasingly clear that massive investment was not the key to success in plastics recycling and it would remain difficult to make money in this sector,” he assured his audience.

Considerable reorganisation was in progress, but it was not going smoothly as no-one wanted to co-operate, said Mr Daalder. He believed this situation might be compared with what had happened to the textile industry in Western Europe. Large factories had been closed as production was moved to low-wage countries where it continued on a smaller scale. It was not inconceivable that the same development could overtake plastics recycling in Europe.

Rosy now – gloomy future

Mr Daalder described the current market for secondary material in Germany, the Benelux countries and Asia as “quite rosy”. But the outlook was somewhat gloomy – principally because of over-capacity in primary plastics production which would eventually exert a downward influence on secondary prices. For the moment, said Mr Daalder, prices and sales of reclaimed polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were good, and there was a shortage of PE film. Unprocessed PP material was in high demand, especially from flower-pot manufacturers. Over-capacity in virgin polystyrene (PS) production had already eroded the price which had now stabilised. The secondary market was satisfactory although prices of unprocessed material exported to Asia had fallen.

Primary PVC in Asia was priced at US$200 per tonne below that in Europe where the trend was likely to be down. Mr Daalder said secondary grades of white and natural were in very high demand, but not dark mixed colours and black.

He saw PET as the plastic of the future, becoming the number-one competitor with glass. Primary PET capacity was rising in tandem with prices which were highest in the USA and lowest in Asia, with Europe somewhere in between. The differential could be above US$250 a tonne. As demand for PET increased, bringing further investment in production, recycling would grow and within the foreseeable future he believed a surplus could be expected. At present, demand for secondary PET was good – especially from the United States, although exports to Asia had slowed.

Reviewing the French, Italian and Spanish markets, Mr Bernard Tavernier of France said that demand for regenerated PE and PS was strong and for PVC satisfactory. The market for PET was currently subject to a great deal of fluctuation. In Spain there was sustained demand for all types of secondary plastics and significant imports had been made.
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