S&P Global launches mixed plastic scrap pricing for US, Europe

In March, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, announced independent price assessments of mixed plastic scrap for the United States and Europe, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of its World Petrochemical Conference. S&P Global is an independent provider of information, data, analysis, benchmark prices and workflow solutions for the metals, commodities, chemicals, energy and energy transition markets.

S&P Global says its analysts believe mixed plastic scrap, mainly polyolefins, will play a significant role in chemical recycling as the global energy transition progresses, offering advantages over mechanical recycling. The company says traditional mechanical recycling continues to face challenges of mixed and/or contaminated plastics that frequently results in these materials being sent to landfills or incinerated.

Conversely, the company says chemical recycling can decompose complex material streams into their basic components, enabling greater recycling of plastics that otherwise would be discarded.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of this new suite of Platts mixed plastic waste price assessments, providing the first-ever assessment for the U.S. and crucial coverage of Europe assessments,” says Heng Hui, Platts global sustainable pricing lead at S&P Global Commodity Insights. “As chemical recycling technologies rapidly evolve and industry demand continues to grow, our inaugural assessments will bring greater transparency across the broader recycling value chain and may have the added benefit of better incentivizing investments in recycling technologies and processes.”

S&P Global Commodity Insights says it estimates that in Europe, another four to five pyrolysis units will be built in the next couple of years on top of the two new plants currently operating, while in the U.S., pyrolysis-based recycling capacity could reach more than 600,000 metric tons per year by 2027.

“Pyrolysis plants focus on polyolefin waste feedstocks, and this feedstock accounts for the lion’s share of all chemical recycling projects,” says Olivier Maronneaud, global research lead for methanol and plastic circularity at S&P Global. “Among the 230 projects we track, pyrolysis represents approximately 70 percent of them. Currently, these units are relatively limited in scale, but companies are looking to increase the capacity of plastic waste they can recycle to 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons per year or more. The introduction of Platts mixed plastic waste assessments will provide market participants with comprehensive pricing information in their continued path towards plastics circularity.”

S&P Global says the new price assessments will reflect the prevailing market value of sorted, washed and shredded mixed plastic at advanced recycling facilities, conforming to composition specifications outlined for the U.S. and Europe. They will be expressed as delivered duty paid (DDP) in U.S. dollars and cents for the U.S., and DDP in U.S. dollars and Euros for Europe. They will be categorized as:

• Platts process-ready mixed plastic waste bale DDP US $/mt;
• Platts process-ready mixed plastic waste bale DDP US cents/lb;
• Platts process-ready mixed plastic waste bale DDP NWE $/mt; and
• Platts process-ready mixed plastic waste bale DDP NEW Eur/mt

The company says additional assessment details can be found in the methodology and specifications guidelines, as well as the subscriber note for U.K. and U.S. The prices will be available via products and services of S&P Global Commodity Insights.