Standard recycled resin prices have continued on an upward trend during the last two months, driven by the rising cost of virgin material and a tight supply of post-consumer scrap.
Recycled PET prices lead the way as clear flake prices have risen by €250 per metric ton over the last two months, clear food-grade pellet prices are up by €100 per tonne and colored flake is up by €85 per tonne over the same period.
Price increases for other standard recycled plastics product types have been much less. Recycled polystyrene prices increased by €80 per tonne during March and April, mainly attributable to the soaring cost of virgin material. Recycled low density polyethylene natural film and translucent film prices have risen by €50-60 per tonne with recycled high density PE and recycled polypropylene prices up by only €30-40 per tonne.
While demand has improved slightly across all material types over the last two months, volume calls are still well below normal levels. In the recycled PET sector, beverage preform producers are buying at close to normal levels. However, as the price gap between virgin PET and clear recycled PET flake has narrowed considerably during the first quarter, some sheet producers are switching from recycled to virgin material.
As sales remain an issue, recyclers are running their plants at rates just sufficient to meet demand and to avoid a build-up of stocks.
Recycled PET
In March, recycled PET prices maintained a firm upward trend. Clear flake prices increased by €90 per tonne with food-grade pellet prices up by €45 per tonne and colored grade material prices rising by €35 per tonne.
In April, clear flake prices soared €150 per tonne with clear food-grade pellet and colored flake prices each up €50/tonne.
The upward price trend is driven by robust buying interest from converters and recyclers plus the European Commission’s proposed recycled content goals pushed more converters to use recycled PET. Lower collection rates are keeping post-consumer bottle bale prices under an upward pressure, which corresponds into less R-PET volumes and higher pricing.
While there has been some switching from recycled to virgin PET in recent months by sheet and thermoforming converters as recycled prices have soared, demand from beverage preform producers is reportedly almost back to normal levels. Meanwhile, PET recyclers have raised run rates to meet the growing demand for recyclate.
Recycled HDPE
In March, recycled HDPE prices once again nudged slightly higher with gains of €10 per tonne over the previous month. The rising cost of virgin material and a slight improvement in demand supported the modest price rise.
Pices continued to rise slowly in April with gains of €20 per tonne. Producers insisted on a price rise given higher costs and a small pick up in volume calls, particularly from the cosmetics and personal care sector.
Recycled LDPE
Recycled LDPE prices maintained an upward trajectory in March. Natural film grades once again led the way with gains of €40 per tonne, followed by translucent film pellets with a rise of €30 per tonne and extrusion black pellets with a rise of €10 per tonne. Recycled prices are benefiting from the upward trend for virgin material and some switching to recyclate by processors.
The upward price trend moderated slightly in April with gains of €20 per tonne for natural film and translucent film grades and a rise of €10 per tonne for black extrusion pellets. The sharp uptrend for virgin LDPE prices in recent months has prompted some converters to order more recycled material.
Recycled PP
Recycled PP prices nudged higher in March with black homopolymer pellets rising by €20 per tonne and black copolymer pellets up by €10 per tonne. Recyclers were largely unable to benefit fully from the growing interest being shown by processors in recyclate due to the soaring cost of standard PP. While base material was available, recyclers were generally reluctant to raise run rates to avoid development of excess stocks.
In April, recycled copolymer prices edged €20 per tonne higher with homopolymer material up by just €10 per tonne. Prices were supported by a small recovery in seasonal demand and further switching from virgin material to recyclate.
Recycled high impact PS
In March, recycled PS prices increased by €50 per tonne over the closing levels in the previous month; benefiting from rising demand from processors due to the skyrocketing cost of virgin material.PS recyclers raised prices by €30 per tonne in April; quite a modest rise considering the soaring cost of virgin material. Recyclers hope to pass on larger price increases over coming months, bearing in mind the widening price gap between recycled and virgin material.