Recycling prices and market commentary 4 June 2021

For those that were trading, some paper and plastic grades increased in price, even though it was generally a quiet week.

With the combination of a bank holiday weekend, school holidays, warm weather and lockdown easing, many took the opportunity of a break.

Trading volumes were generally low, but those that were involved were using last week’s prices as a benchmark and some increasing demand helped push up some plastic and paper grades.

Against the dollar, the pound was trading unchanged at $1.41 from a week ago, while the euro was also unchanged at €1.16.

Recycled plastics

HDPE milk bottles are in good demand from UK and European buyers, helping to push the price up. With the PRN/PERN price also increasing in value this week by £10 or so, this added to the price of both HDPE and PET bottles.

While the PRN/PERN price has bobbed around the region of £120 to £130 per tonne over the last couple of weeks, most in the market still expect it to fall based on the most recent NPWD data.

For film grades, there is still some spot market activity ongoing, and prices increased as a result. However, the view is that LDPE price rises must be limited, especially with Turkey effectively closed now and European demand appearing to be weakening.

Forecast prices

Recycled paper

Last week’s buying for June and the price increase that happened then, seemed to set a benchmark for OCC this week.

Even though it was a quiet week overall, there were a small number of very active buyers from Europe and South East Asia who seemed happy to snap up tonnage at higher prices. Late £130s wasn’t unusual for OCC, with £135 typical. However, some were also able to transact below £130.

Mixed saw just a £5 benefit from this, with higher grades attracting most attention, and poorer quality closer to £100 or below.

Despite these price rises, some are still predicting a cooling of the market through June.

Forecast prices

Recycled metals

There was no change for any recycled metal grades this week, following a steady increase seen in many grades over the last couple of months.

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