The tighter restrictions are being used to reduce the chances of contaminated post-consumer material entering China but the Chinese market continues to take both bottles and film from Europe and the US. This is contrary to a recent rumour that imports of bottles had been banned entirely by the Chinese government.
Otherwise, orders for film and bottles are experiencing the usual seasonal slow down and are not expected to pick up again until after the Chinese New Year at the end of January. Because of the low demand and higher standards there has been an increase in the amount of material available to domestic recyclers.
One UK recycler told letsrecycle.com: “There is no real change in prices we are paying for bottles but we are being offered more material. It's the close of the year and no one is really vying for material.”
As Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) values remain on the low side, exporters for waste plastics packaging are facing leaner margins. Predictions for the New Year's plastics PRN market are mixed, with some predicting a much needed increase in prices while others say that the supply of PRNs will outstrip demand and their value will remain low.
Andrew Simmons, chief executive of Recoup, said: “The underlying demand for plastic bottles remains strong. We are seeing a degree of seasonal slowdown which is only to be expected with some decline in PRN prices.”
Looking to strengthen the UK waste plastics recycling industry, Recoup is currently working with the British Standards Institute to develop standards for the plastics recycling industry and is also looking into the supply chain with WRAP.
Mr Simmons said: “Local authorities should recognise that the long term outlook remains good for plastic bottle recycling. I think it is important for people to deal with enterprises that can offer long term relationships.”
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