The summer recycling market truly kicked in this week with many taking time off, even if they were not venturing too far from home.
Demand from European buyers in particular eased off as they prepared for the great August get-away.
It was the second week of trying to understand the Q2 data from NPWD and this meant plastic packaging prices eased back as a result of a falling PRN/PERN price.
For paper, it was a largely stable week in term of prices and this was also the case for metals.
Against the dollar, the pound strengthened up to $1.31 from $1.27 a week ago. It hasn’t been this high since December and will make deep sea exports more expensive if it continues.
The pound was a little bit stronger against the euro at €1.10 from €1.09 a week ago.
Recycled plastics
The main determinant in the plastic packaging recycling market was the price of the PRN/PERN again this week. With the price of it dropping by about £10, this was reflected in a similar fall in value in packaging grades.
There is a view in the market that the PRN/PERN price will continue to fall over the coming weeks due to the oversupply seen in the recent Q2 data. Although it remains the case that there are doubts about the validity of the data, and fraud is being widely talked about.
However, it is also hoped that a falling PRN/PERN price will act as a deterrent to those tempted to act fraudulently.
The summer recycling market has truly kicked in and many European buyers in particular have ordered for the next couple of weeks, or indeed for August. Therefore it is likely demand will ease off in the next week or so, especially as there isn’t Far Eastern demand to take up some of the slack.
Forecast prices
| 1-week | 4-week | |
| PET | 259-265 | 259-265 |
| HDPE | 444-460 | 441-447 |
| LDPE | 197-203 | 197-203 |
Recycled paper
Prices were largely stable this week with the same destinations buying at the same prices as last week.
This meant China and Indonesia were up to £90 for OCC, with the former filling quota before some of the shipping lines stop accepting material to there.
Other destinations were more in the £60 to £70 range for OCC.
Mixed was still in the £5 to £10 range. For news & pam it is hard to get an order, but again prices were stable if you could.
August is expected to be a slow month with many having already bought for the month ahead, plus UK and European demand will be weaker as people take time off.
Forecast prices
| 1-week | 4-week | |
| OCC | 69-73 | 67-71 |
| ONP | 55-59 | 54-58 |
| Mixed | 6-10 | 6-10 |
Recycled metals
Brass grades were the only change this week with a £25 increase in value.
Recycling prices
For recycled paper prices, click here
For recycled plastic prices, click here
For recycled metal prices, click here
For recycled glass prices, click here
For PRN/PERN prices, click here
