Post-Consumer Natural HDPE Prices Continue to RisePost-Consumer Natural HDPE Prices Continue to Rise

Post-consumer natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) continued its pricing ascent over the past months, reaching an all-time high level of 56 cents per pound, as reported August 8 on the Secondary Materials Pricing (SMP) Index.

By contrast, the monthly national average price for post-consumer color high-density polyethylene (HDPE color) dropped from 29 to 27 cents per pound.

Meanwhile, the newly reported pricing for HDPE rigids reached a new high of 20 cents per pound in the central and eastern USA regions.

This pricing represents what is being paid for post-consumer recyclable plastic materials in a sorted, baled format, picked up at most major recycling centers.

On the export side, industry sources report that the annual volume of recovered plastics exports has risen to more than 1.9 billion pounds (as at May, 2014), representing an overall 12 percent increase from the same period in 2013.

(For more information, go to www.secondarymaterialspricing.com)

Corrugated Paper (OCC-PS11) Prices Drop

On the post-consumer paper front, pricing for most Paper Stock Industries (PSI) paper grades has remained constant during the past 6 months.

The one exception is Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC, PS-11), where average prices per ton have dropped gradually from a high of $145 per ton in April, 2014 to the current $122 per ton as reported August 6, 2014, on the Secondary Fiber Pricing (SFP) Index.

(For more information, go to www.secondaryfiberpricing.com)

Robert Boulanger is president of Recycling Markets Ltd. and director of the Commodity Pricing division. He has extensive experience in the operation and management of recycling plants, and is a long-time publisher in the recycling sector. He can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 330-956-8911 or 877-825-6555.

For more than 30 years, the company and its affiliates have focused on the management of company databases and commodity pricing for the recycling industry. In 2002,

SecondaryFiberPricing.com was developed as the first industry online format to publish real-time pricing for 18 PSI grades of recyclable paper. SecondaryMaterialsPricing.com was launched in 2004 for postconsumer Plastics, Cans and Glass. Online members have instant access to more than 10 years of historical data.