Plastics News is updating prices for several recycled resins to reflect market changes seen in recent months. The largest increases have been seen in markets for natural, post-consumer high density PE pellets and recycled crystal PS pellets.
Natural, post-consumer HDPE pellet prices are up an average of 28 cents per pound, as demand has soared for sustainable content in dairy and food containers. In some cases, the material has sold recently for around $1 per pound.
Prices for recycled crystal PS pellets are up 12 cents, with both clear and green post-consumer PET pellets up 2 cents, as processors look to meet sustainability requirements.
Prices for mixed-color pellets and flake in high, low and linear low density PE are down between 8 and 15 cents, as collection issues for PE film have led processors to use other materials. Prices for ABS regrind are down 15 cents, PVC regrind is down 5 cents, post-consumer PP pellets are down 2 cents and PP industrial regrind is down 5 cents, owing mainly to relatively low prices for virgin grades of those materials making recycled grades less attractive.
A recent report from the PetroChem Wire data service said that the low-priced end of recycled PP recently has come from material sourced from post-industrial hygiene products and other low-end scrap. Higher-priced recycled PP is generated from food-grade, post-consumer material, which can be used in bottles, containers and packaging, according to the report.
In feedstocks, prices for West Texas Intermediate oil began August at $40.30 per barrel but had risen to $42.60 by the end of the month for a gain of almost six percent.
Prices for natural gas — used as a feedstock in North American PE and PVC — began August at $1.80 per million British thermal units but had zoomed to $2.60 by the end of the month for a jump of more than 40 percent.