Industry Stakeholders Share Optimistic Views for Paper, Plastic Markets

Despite the volatility experienced within the global recycling markets over the past couple years, recycling experts in the U.S. are expressing their optimism for paper and plastic markets.

During a recycling market presentation at the Association of Oregon Recyclers’ annual conference in Bend, Ore., last month, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, paper mill operator Norpac, plastics reclaimer EFS-plastics and The Recycling Partnership gathered to discuss certain factors that are projected to push markets up moving forward.

Although industry stakeholders described “a great deal of unrest around pricing, they all also offered details on billions of dollars’ worth of end user investments and other tangible reasons why material sellers have reason to be optimistic,” Resource Recycling reports.

Resource Recycling has more details:

Between overseas import restrictions, tariff impacts and domestic market volatility, an erratic environment has become the norm for recycling operators around North America.

“All of a sudden, if you’re running a business, nothing is stable anymore,” said Bernie Lee, a research analyst for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). “And it’s hard to have the courage to make investments or have the foresight to see where you need to put that money and how to operate in that environment.”

But amid that turmoil, there are plenty of factors that seem destined to push markets back up in the years ahead.

Read the full article here.