A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier
From a recent Resource Recycling newsletter, some good news and some notso-good news concerning the current value of recycled paper and cardboard. I will also go a little into the status of some other recycled materials.
On recycled cardboard, I find the companies collecting and selling it are getting a little bit more for it. At $32 a ton, it is up 28% from just a few months prior; but still well below the $135 per ton they were receiving for it just 3 years ago. On sorted paper, neither
On sorted paper, neither good news or bad news as it seems to currently be holding its own. It’s trading at around $10 per ton. But again, well below the $97 per ton 3 years ago.
Mixed paper is where we really have the not-so-good news. The national average per ton of it is a negative $3.75 — meaning they have to pay mills to take it off their hands. Three years ago, it had a positive high of $88 per ton. Switching to other prod
Switching to other products many of us recycle, we find the national average price for aluminum cans seems to be doing fairly well at 49.69 cents per pound. This compares with the notthat-much-more of 66 cents per pound 3 years ago.
The same seems to be true with steel cans, not a big change from 3 years ago. The current national average of $124 per ton — or about $.06 per pound — compares with $167 per ton — or about $.08 per pound — 1 year ago.
Going to those plastic drink bottles and milk/water jugs we recycle, the national average price of PET beverage bottles and jars is now at 9.91 cents per pound. Because of a change in the way it is now priced, a comparison would not be realistic for most of us. However, the price now better represents what the curbside and dropoff programs in most areas are receiving.
For those plastic milk/ water jugs, the national average price of this natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from collection programs has gone down a little to 54.81 cents per pound from a recent 59.47 cents per pound. However, still a lot better than the 35.19 cents per pound 1 year ago.
Hopefully, while the above information does not directly help you and I in our recycling efforts, it may help us understand why some cities and collection drop-off sites are having to make sure they are watching how every penny is spent in their programs, if they want to continue in their efforts. Till next week, do have a good one. And if you haven’t already voted in early voting, go take time to take advantage of this wonderful privilege we have with all our other great freedoms.
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432.
