Many of those firms that receive money
for cardboard from Collect and Recycle (http://www.collectandrecycle.com)
also use the service for the recycling of plastic packaging film. They may
therefore be interested in the Environment Agency's publication of provisional
packaging waste recovery data for the third quarter of 2013 showing a
significant rise in plastic packaging recycling collections, despite early
suggestions that the sector's recycling target may not be met.
The Environment Agency published its
data for July-September 2013 on October 22, showing a continued increase in
plastic and glass packaging recovery rates from the first and second quarter
figures. The third quarter of this year saw the processing in the UK and abroad
of 195,331 tonnes of plastic, compared to the first quarter figure of 153,640
tonnes and 165,011 tonnes in the second quarter.
For many in the waste services sector, it once
seemed unlikely that Defra's target of 37 per cent of plastic being recycled
would be met. However, the target now looks much more achievable, with only
around 169,000 tonnes - a figure broadly similar to that of the second quarter
- now needing to be processed in the final quarter of the year.
The rise in plastics trading has
been attributed by waste
recycling observers to a marked increase in the value of the material's
packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs). As the second quarter commenced, plastic
PRNs had been priced at around £20-30, but this had leapt to £60-70 by the
start of the third quarter. The increasing recycling target has been partially
responsible for the rise in PRN price, although the restriction on the export
of material to China - the UK's largest overseas market for material - has also
played a part since it began in February 2013.
Although the improved recycling
figures for plastic packaging were described as "very positive" by
the Environment Exchange's senior market trader Ian Andrews, he warned that in
2014, with the target rising by an additional 5 per cent, a drop in the plastic
PRN price could weaken the market's position. He predicted a softening in the
price, adding that there had already been a fall in the spot market from £67 to
around £54.
He commented that "Even though
we are in a strong position at the moment, this is what we will need to be
doing next year," adding that "The market needs to ascertain the
trigger point that would enable export markets to remain open."
"If we do see prices drop off
significantly we are going to create problems for 2014. The final quarter of
the year usually sets the tone for the next year, and producers will
However the plastic recycling sector
fares over the coming months and years, Collect and Recycle (http://www.collectandrecycle.com)
will continue to provide the best service for not only plastics, but also cardboard
collections and the recycling of all manner of other material, for firms
looking to receive money for business
waste.
Editor’s
Note: Collect and Recycle (http://www.collectandrecycle.com)
are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing
specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk
or call: +44
(0)20 3070 1959 / +34
952 783 637.
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