In particular, the sharp fall in price is said to have affected lower quality plastic material, such as contaminated film, carrier bags and mixed plastics, such as yoghurt pots.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com today (July 6), the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), plastics recycling organisation Recoup and plastic recycling companies said that prices were experiencing something more akin to a “drop” than a “dramatic decline” and attributed the current deflation of prices to a clampdown on UK material being taken into mainland China from neighbouring Hong Kong (see letsrecycle.com story).
Stuart Foster, senior project manager at Recoup, told letsrecycle.com: “In November prices dropped from their highest to almost zero in a couple of weeks but this time it is not like that. China has not switched off demand, it is slowing down movement of material through Hong Kong – it is slow but it hasn't dropped off the side of the cliff.”
“It is a drop not a dramatic decline. It is not like it was last time, at the moment, and part of it is down to the fact that there is some demand due to the export market but there is also the UK market. I am hoping that this is going to be more akin to something like a blip than a plummet,” he added.
WRAP
Echoing the comments made by Mr Foster, a spokeswoman for WRAP explained that the government-funded body had been following the price fluctuations closely and had been made aware of raised import tariffs and more stringent inspections in the Far East, both of which were depressing prices for material.
However, WRAP said it did not think that the current decline in prices indicated a complete collapse of the recovered plastics market and that it did not expect the slow movement in the Far East to last.
The spokeswoman said: “UK demand for plastic bottles remains good although some buyers have stated that prices remain a little over heated and are waiting for the price to slip further. Overall, plastic bottle prices are at reasonable levels, markets are functioning (the disruption on China imports is expected to be temporary) and we don't expect a repeat of last year's collapse.”
Sector
Plastics recycling companies themselves remained slightly more cautious but said that the next few weeks would give a clearer indication of the robustness of the sector and the Far East demand for material.
One purchasing manager told letsrecycle.com: “It is particularly serious, and, though it is not as bad as November yet, in a couple of weeks it could be. We are seeing the exact stages we saw the last time this went on with China, but I would say watch this space for the next few weeks although be certain that it is dropping.”
Another plastics recycling reprocessor said: “It is declining and I think it will continue to decline until the Chinese have decided that is enough and says ‘Let's change our mind again'.”
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