PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Executive Director, executive.director@nerc.org
Date: November 21, 2019
Updated Blended Commodity Values in the Northeast
Following on its inaugural blended commodity value report published in August, NERC has again surveyed publically-owned MRFs in a 10-state region and has published the results. The report covers the period of July 1- September 30, 2019.
Last year, in partnership with the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA), NERC formed a Regional Recycling Markets Development Committee. The Committee determined that having regional information about the value of recyclable commodities would be extremely helpful for assessing regional market trends and would serve as an educational tool for promoting improved residential recycling and participation. North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality has been doing a similar survey for many years. The results have been invaluable to recyclers, MRFs, and also municipalities and state agencies. NERC anticipates the same benefits in our region and will conduct the survey, and report results and trends, on a quarterly basis.
Blended Commodity Values in the Northeast - November 2019 report shows a significant drop in the value of a ton of materials marketed by MRFs in the region.
Fourteen (14) publically-owned MRFs provided the average value of each commodity for the previous quarter (July – September 2019). These values were then combined into a weighted average to reflect the average value per ton for recyclables marketed in the region. Among the respondents were single stream, dual stream, and source separated MRFs.
The results were:
- Average commodity value per ton with residuals: $34.85
- Average commodity value per ton without residuals: $41.55
These figures show a significant decrease in value from the previous quarter (April – June, 2019)
- Change in average commodity value per ton with residuals: -24%
- Change in average commodity value per ton without residuals: -20%