Hong Kong Braces for Drastic Drop in Recycling Prices

With recycling prices in Hong Kong expected to drop to a new two-decade low, the region is bracing for a buildup of cardboard waste. The price drop is a response to the lower demand for cardboard and a leading paper factory in China slashing the price it pays exporters amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.

A major paper factory in China announced its plans to cut the price it pays local exporters to HK$600 ($77) per tonne, or a drop of 45 percent compared to last December, according to the South China Morning Post. Due to the drastic price change, companies and street workers are at risk of being put out of business.

South China Morning Post has more information:

Hong Kong faces a build-up of cardboard on the streets and in landfill with recycling prices set to drop to a new two-decade low, putting the livelihood of frontline workers at risk.

A leading paper factory on mainland China has plans to cut the price it pays local waste exporters to HK$600 (US$77) per tonne, according to the Hong Kong Recycle Materials and Reproduction Business General Association, amid lower demand for cardboard among Chinese factories caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war.

Jacky Lau Yiu-shing, the association’s director, recalled the export price was about HK$1,100 to HK$1,200 per tonne last December, meaning cardboard collectors could sell what they gathered from the streets for about HK$0.7 to HK$0.8 per kilogram.

Read the full article here.