The Good, the Bad and the Meh: Midsummer Recycling Markets

Chaz Miller • July 22, 2024

Chaz Miller

July 22, 2024


A bit more than halfway through the year, MRF recycling markets are blowing hot, cold, and indifferent. On the hot side are old corrugated containers (OCC), residential mixed paper (RMP), PET bottles, and aluminum cans. Steel cans and colored HDPE bottles are cold. Natural HDPE bottles and polypropylene (PP) packaging are kind of meh. At least prices aren’t as volatile as the summer of 2021 when most recyclables set record highs only to watch them disappear.


Let’s start with the hot markets. PET bottle and aluminum can markets reflect changes in seasonal demand for beverages. Beer, soda pop and bottled water sales are highest between Memorial and Labor Days. In the spring, when purchasing agents start stepping up their orders for these packages, supply is low. The increased demand drives up prices. Similarly, in midsummer, prices start to go down as supply exceeds anticipated post-Labor Day demand.


Currently, the national price for a bale of PET bottles is 17.41 cents per pound, about 50 percent higher than it was at the beginning of the year (note: all MRF bale prices are from RecyclingMarkets.net as of July 19). Aluminum cans are currently just a hair under 76 cents a pound, about a 25 percent increase in value. MRFs are benefitting from strong prices from both packages. Nonetheless, they will go down soon, as they usually do.


National prices remain strong for both OCC and RMP. The average price for old boxes is $107.50 a ton. Those prices started rising at the beginning of 2023. Their value has more than tripled since then. RMP has grown to a current value of $70.63 a ton from a negative value of -$1.50 a ton in November 2022. Prices for both have flattened out. They provide a strong base for MRF revenue.


Recycled paper prices remained strong over the last year in spite of unusual demand and supply realities. Demand for OCC and RMP is up because the paper packaging industry has experienced a rapid increase in its capacity to use recycled paper. All six facilities with new capacity in 2023 and this year are located east of the Mississippi as is a majority of the new capacity since the surge started in 2018. New and existing capacity are competing for supply, driving prices up and looking for paper further away from their mills than normal. At the same time lower paper exports have eased pressure on prices.


Supply of OCC and RMP is not keeping up with demand because inflation lowered unit sales of most consumer products. This leads to fewer boxes needed to transport those products to stores and to be available for recycling. While you and I have more boxes due to increased e-commerce, we don’t have as many as anticipated when the new capacity was being planned. The e-commerce companies are using fewer and smaller boxes to lower their costs. And when we get them, we aren’t as good at recycling them as stores. That supply shortage is keeping prices up.


To further complicate matters, due to unanticipated lower demand for their end product, a number of paper mills took “economic downtime” and temporarily stopped production until sales picked up. This includes some of the new capacity. Worse yet, the McKinley Paper Company mill in Port Angeles, Washington, which opened in 2020, recently announced it is closing. High raw material costs and sluggish demand for its products were blamed. The mill made linerboard and corrugated medium for boxes and other paper packaging.

OCC and RMP markets could stay at their current level for a while. Seasonal holiday box demand will be kicking in soon. When that is over, lower prices are likely.


The cold markets are colored HDPE and steel cans. Colored HDPE resin is primarily used for construction-related products such as water and sewer pipes because the dyes used to color the resin can’t be taken out. A year ago, the price was unusually low at 7.13 cents a pound. Then it steadily rose to 23.94 cents per pound in May before falling to 11.56 cents per pound. Colored HDPE’s price often reflects housing construction trends. New housing permits and construction starts are falling due to high housing costs. Prices will pick up when construction picks up.


Over the past year, steel can prices fell by a quarter to $152.81 per ton. Electric arc furnaces, the predominant steel making technology in the U.S., feast on any type of scrap steel. When Baltimore’s new Key Bridge is built, I hope that some of my steel cans will be in it. For now, however, steel markets are soft due to lack of demand.


That leaves us with the “meh” of natural HDPE (primarily milk jugs) and PP (primarily yogurt containers). Prices are low, but the packages are being recycled. HDPE is commonly used for detergent and shampoo bottles and many other packages. It can be dyed whatever color the package uses. A year ago, the major buyer for recycled natural HDPE stopped buying. Prices collapsed by 237 percent to 22.22 cents a pound. Since then, they have slowly increased. Still, at 37.19 cents per pound it only recently rose above its April 2020 low point. The price will get back to its normally higher levels when consumer brands decide they really want recycled content.


At 6.5 cents per pound, PP (primarily yogurt containers), is the least valuable plastic package in the bin. Its markets are primarily nonpackaging durable plastics. Sales of those products have been flat for some time, so has PP’s low price.



I’ve been tracking recycling markets for some time. Current markets are the most unusual – heck, the weirdest – I’ve seen. Part of that is COVID’s ongoing impact on the economy. Part is the stunning increase in paper recycled content capacity. Part is the ability of e-commerce companies to reduce their need for boxes. Part is the off and on demand for recycled plastic by consumer product companies. Sooner or later, this will all resolve itself. Until then, enjoy the ride.

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Connecticut Tire Stewardship

By Sophie Leone • July 28, 2026
Connecticut Tire Stewardship (CTS) is the nonprofit organization responsible for implementing Connecticut's Tire Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. Working with municipal transfer stations, tire retailers, auto shops, car dealerships, and other collection partners, CTS helps ensure discarded tires are responsibly collected, recycled, and put to beneficial new uses. Approximately 3.5 million tires reach the end of their useful life in Connecticut each year. Through its statewide Roll Recycle Renew program, CTS provides residents with free tire recycling opportunities while giving municipalities a practical solution for managing scrap tires. By making responsible disposal more accessible, the program helps reduce illegal dumping, protect waterways and natural resources, and keep tires out of landfills. "Connecticut Tire Stewardship is pleased to join NERC and become part of a network of organizations working to advance sustainable materials management across the Northeast. We look forward to sharing ideas, learning from our peers, and expanding responsible tire recycling opportunities throughout Connecticut," said Jesse Schofield, Executive Director of Connecticut Tire Stewardship. NERC is excited to welcome Connecticut Tire Stewardship and support its mission as a Tire Stewardship Organization implementing Extended Producer Responsibility for tires and working toward a more sustainable circular economy. For more information on Connecticut Tire Stewardship visit.

EBC Welcomes New Member: Northeast Recycling Council (NERC)

By Environmental Business Council of New England • July 23, 2026
Please join the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) in welcoming Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) as a new member of the organization. “NERC is a non-profit organization that conducts research, hands-on projects, training, and outreach on issues associated with source reduction, recycling, composting, environ­mentally preferable purchasing, and decreasing the toxicity of the solid waste stream. Eleven states united for environmentally sustainable materials management. We provide webinars, conferences, networking, blogs, and regional collaboration to drive the recycling economy. Special programs include: Government Recycling Demand Champions, State Electronics Challenge, Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse, and the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse. “ EBC members include businesses and nonprofits specializing in environmental and energy technology, services, and products. They range from one-person entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit organizations to established corporations with thousands of employees. Explore the EBC Member Directory for a complete listing of member organizations. To learn more about Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) including their discipline and services provided, please follow the link . Read on EBCNE .

US thrift boom could keep more textiles from landfills as Gen Z drives resale

By James Nanzo | The Cool Down • July 16, 2026
Americans looking to stretch their budgets are increasingly turning to thrift stores, and that shift could pay off in ways that go beyond cheaper fashion, as Retail Dive detailed . Growing interest in resale could also cut textile waste by keeping clothing in use longer before it ends up in the trash. What's happening? At a Northeast Recycling Council webinar, panelists described thrift stores as an important checkpoint before clothing becomes waste, according to Retail Dive. As secondhand shopping becomes more common, more garments have a chance to be reused, resold, repaired, or otherwise redirected instead of being thrown away. Giana Manganaro Cronin, associate director of retail for More Than Words, said high prices, tariff worries, and broader economic uncertainty have made more consumers willing to thrift, as Retail Dive reported. Young consumers are a big part of that momentum. Cronin said roughly 64% of Gen Z shoppers check resale avenues before purchasing something new, according to Retail Dive. Meanwhile, Uli Stosch, chief officer of strategic development for Planet Aid, pointed to a ThredUp report cited by Retail Dive that estimated 14% growth in the U.S. secondhand apparel market in 2024 and a rise to $74 billion by 2029. Why does it matter? For budget-conscious households, secondhand shopping can mean major savings on basics such as jeans, jackets, and kids clothes along with the chance to find rare or high-value items at steep discounts. A big challenge with textile waste is that clothing is hard to sort and recycle. Katarina Goodge, a materials research engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said recyclers often do not have the details they need to handle garments correctly, per Retail Dive. "We need to know the fiber content to know how to recycle that garment," Goodge explained at the summit, according to the outlet. The reach of secondhand clothing goes well beyond local thrift racks. Retail Dive reported that more than 1.5 billion people globally depend on secondhand clothing, and that a study from Full Cycle Resource revealed Guatemala imported 290 million pounds in 2023, reusing more than 91% of it. Even so, Stosch said many stores sell only about 10-50% of what they receive, with some of the remainder compressed for export under the "mixed rags" label, according to Retail Dive. Keeping clothes in circulation longer can reduce strain on landfills and lower demand for resource-intensive new production. Still, the clothes that don't make it aren't easy to deal with. Stosch said workers in countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia often sort clothing by hand, according to Retail Dive. What's being done? Possible solutions are coming from both researchers and policymakers. Goodge said that handheld near-infrared tools used with artificial intelligence or machine learning could speed up fiber identification, which may eventually make textile recycling more practical at scale, per Retail Dive. States are also stepping in, Retail Dive noted. In Massachusetts, textile disposal bans have already drawn more attention to clothing that cannot be resold. Stosch said receiving clean but slightly damaged clothing is workable for thrift stores, according to Retail Dive. The outlet reported that California is putting its textile extended producer responsibility law into effect, a move expected to expand donation, repair, and recycling options. Goodge concluded that repair has "huge potential" to cut into the problem, as Retail Dive reported . Read article on yahoolife.