PCR interest, pricing on the rise

There was no shortage of topics to discuss as more than 50,000 registrants packed NPE 2024: The Plastics Show in Orlando in early May, and that included manufacturers increasingly considering the use of recycled content in their products and packaging.

According to Emily Friedman, the Houston-based senior recycled plastics editor at London-based commodities consulting firm ICIS, a range of companies expressed interest in recycled content at the event, including those in the automotive, boating, durable goods and appliance industries, even though none are required to use recycled content in their products.

“This [interest] was very voluntary in nature,” she says. “I think we’ll continue to see more effort there, whether it’s hard [recycled content] goals or if [manufacturers] are looking at sourcing recycled resin for some of their components.”

“I think we’ll continue to see more effort there, whether it’s hard [recycled content] goals or if [manufacturers] are looking at sourcing recycled resin for some of their components.” – Emily Friedman, recycled plastics editor, ICIS

However, she says activity among consumer packaged goods brands still feels disjointed, with companies in various stages of their sustainability commitments. While some brands are revising 2025 and 2030 goals because of difficulties meeting them, others have elected to expand them.

The same applies for packaging converters—some companies are well-equipped to use recycled resins, while others are in the early stages of sourcing material.

Friedman says converters’ and recyclers’ ability to meet brands’ specific requirements remains unknown.

“We have the capacity,” she says, noting that, above all, the recycling industry wants to grow. “It’s just a matter of making the connection between the materials we have available, what we can do with those materials and then the current design of some of these applications.”

As interest in postconsumer resins grows, markets remained steady in early May, with slight price increases. A broker based in the Northeast says polyethylene terephthalate bottle bales rose to average around 19 cents to 20 cents per pound delivered to start the month, a 1-cent increase from April amid “healthy demand.” The picked-up price sat between 16 cents and 18 cents per pound.

He notes mixed-color high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bales have performed similarly, with early May pricing between 25 cents and 26 cents versus 24 cents to 25 cents in April.

“There’s pretty good demand there, too,” he adds. “We’ve had end users that have been in the market pretty consistently, and then some big guys who weren’t competing as much who now are looking a little bit more competitive, and I think that’s partially why we’ve seen a little bit of a jump there.”

Natural HDPE bales also saw a 1-cent bump to 36 cents per pound at the start of May.

The broker says the polypropylene market is developing. After a prolonged period at about 5 cents per pound, increased demand has led to early-May prices of between 7 cents and 8 cents per pound.