Plastics

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Demand and pricing for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) seems to be varying regionally, though China has reentered the market, which has pushed up pricing for the material in general.

A recycler based in Toronto says that the Chinese have reentered the market, contributing to the 4 cent increase in PET pricing from the end of September to mid-October. The recycler says that mixed bales of clear and green bottles are moving for 10 to 11 cents U.S. "I don’t see it coming back down for a bit," he says. "I see further increases."

A Midwest recycler who prefers to do business locally says the PET market has softened somewhat in the last few months because of a glut of material on the market. He adds that a number of large consumers in the South have dropped out of the market for the time being, which is contributing to the softening of the market.

But things could be revving up, as Mohawk, which stopped buying in favor of running down its inventory, has recently started buying again, the Toronto recycler says.

Wellman’s recent announcement that it will be exiting the recycled PET market has not had an effect on the market yet, according to the Toronto recycler, and he is skeptical that it will. "It’s hard to peg Wellman’s impact," he says. "I don’t think there will be a huge effect, especially if the Chinese stay in the market."

Wellman has said that it is restructuring its U.S. fiber operations, consolidating its fiber production to its Palmetto plant in Darlington, S.C., and closing fiber capacity at its Johnsonville, S.C., plant. Wellman has also announced that it expects to sell its Material Recycling Division, which has a capacity of nearly 200 million pounds per year.

However, the Midwest recycler says he’s already feeling the effects of Wellman’s consolidation plan as the company is easing back on post-consumer PET purchases.

In other consumer news, AERT pushed back ramping up to full capacity at its Springdale, Ark., plant until some time in November. The plant will make composite building materials.

At the mid-October selling price of from 10 to 12 cents per pound, the Midwest recycler says he has seen pricing for post-consumer PET decline steadily from a high of nearly 22 cents per pound in June of 2005. And while he says he can get 3 to 4 cents more from the export market, he doesn’t feel that the extra trouble is worth it.

PET seems to be fetching higher prices on the West Coast, where a recycler reports that he is seeing an average price of just below 21 cents delivered at the dock.

Pricing for HDPE (high density polyethylene) also has been varying by market, according to the West Coast recycler, with the export market paying as much as 30 cents delivered at the dock for the natural material. Domestic markets have been paying slightly less, however, at 28 to 29.5 cents. "And they have been screaming all the way," he adds. "Everyone wanted natural to come down."

The Toronto recycler says that HDPE pricing has been "pretty steady" for the last six weeks. "There’s not great demand," he says, "but volumes are moving constantly."

On the East Coast, colored HDPE has been selling in the 17 to 18 cent range since mid-August, the Toronto recycler says, with natural creeping up 3 cents to 31 cents per pound.

The market for industrial HDPE has softened some, according to the Midwest recycler. He says consumers forced down the price on virgin HDPE, and that decline is affecting post-industrial markets.

Generation is also slower, he says, adding that a bit of a pickup is to be expected toward the end of the year.

Post-industrial polypropylene markets have also softened somewhat, according to the Midwest recycler, however, prices have yet to dip downward.

(Additional news about plastics recycling markets is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.)