Plastics Recycling Market Guide
Market Information Resources
General Information
The Chicago Board of Trade (http://cbot-recycle.com/indexst.html) is a recyclables exchange dedicated to the international trade of recyclable commodities.
Global Recycling Network's Internet Recycling Business Center (http://grn.com) is a free-access public site dedicated to recycling-related information.
Recycler's World (http://www.recycle.net/recycle/index.html) is a free worldwide information exchange for those who wish to buy, sell, or trade recyclable commodities, used materials, and collectible items. Secondary materials can be direct marketed through this free-access public site. Price information is available.
Recycling Centers/Coordinators
Recycling Centers. A hotline is available to help you locate a convenient recycling center. This is an automated phone system sponsored by Cal/EPA. Call 1-800-CLEANUP, and follow the recorded instructions.
Recycling Coordinators. Nearly every incorporated city in California has a recycling coordinator that should be able to assist you in identifying either markets for, or sources of, recovered plastics. The Board's recycling hotline, 1-800-553-2962, can provide you with the name and phone number of the recycling coordinator for your community.
California Recycling Advocacy Associations. Recycling advocacy associations actively promote the recovery and use of secondary materials. The California Resource Recovery Association (www.crra.com), the Northern California Recycling Association (www.ncrarecycles.org), and Californian's Against Waste (www.igc.apc.org/caw) are three leading California recycling advocacy groups.
California Recycled Plastics Markets. As a registered customer, you'll have access to all of California Recycled Plastics Markets. This site was developed for the recycling industry's use and not for the general public. Its primary purpose is to connect sources of recycled plastic with buyers of recycled plastic. The site will be updated regularly to reflect changes in market and supplier information.
PlasticBagRecycling.org. The American Plastics Council and Moore Recycling Associates have developed a website to facilitate the recovery of clean dry grocery and retail bags and polyethylene film such as stretch wrap and shrink wrap. The web site provides consumers, municipalities and businesses in California an opportunity to identify grocery stores and other recovery facility locations that collect plastic bags and film for recycling.
Trade Groups
The Progressive Bag Alliance, at http://www.progressivebagalliance.com/, is working with policy makers, businesses, and community members to implement new ideas and improve existing programs that make a difference; helping to ensure that plastic bags are recycled, reused, and disposed of properly. The website provides municipalities in California with resources to help implement curbside film diversion programs including templates for press releases, print ads, logos, PSAs, and bill stuffers.
Commodity Grade Resins
National Association for Plastic Container Recovery (NAPCOR), at http://www.napcor.com, is a national trade association dedicated to promoting the collection and recycling of PETE (#1) plastic.
Clean Washington Center, at http://www.cwc.org/, is the organization in the State of Washington that develops markets for recycled materials.
American Plastics Council (APC), at http://www.plasticsresource.com/common/polymers, is the major national trade association representing the U.S. plastics industry on resource conservation issues.
Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), at http://www.socplas.org/, is a trade association of over 2,000 members representing all segments of the plastics industry in the United States.
Engineering Grade Plastics
Society of the Plastics Engineers (SPE), at http://www.4spe.org/main.html, is a network of plastics professionals around the world promotion the knowledge and education of plastics and polymers.
Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP), at http://www.uscar.com/consortia/con-vrp.html, was formed by the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) to identify and pursue research and development efforts to promote the recycling of motor vehicles. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors formed USCAR to work together on shared technological and environmental concerns.
Advanced Recovery, at http://www.advancedrecovery.com, is a company involved in recycling scrap materials, specifically dangerous CRTs and electronic equipment.
References and Periodicals
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries' (http://www.isri.org) Commodities Report is published 24 times a year and focuses on a single scrap commodity in each issue. The Commodities Report also provides domestic and export market analysis.
Investor's Research Guide to the Recycling Industry, at http://www.kirkworks.com/irr.htm#plastic, provides key sources of information on the recycling industry for evaluation of markets and market trends.
Modern Plastics, at http://www.modplas.com/, is the global magazine of plastic processing. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York , New York, USA, 10020-1095; (212) 512-4387.
Plastics News, at http://www.plasticsnews.com/subscriber/screen1.phtml?goto=/index.phtml, provides international information for the plastics industry. 1725 Merrriman Rd., Akron, Ohio, USA 44313; (330) 836-9180.
Plastics Recycling Update, has container recycling information, market
production and price data.1206 N.W. 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209-1609;
(503) 227-1319.
E-mail: Resrecycle@aol.com.
Plastics World provides information on plastics molding, extrusion, recycling and design.455 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, New York, USA, 11747 (516) 845-2700.
Recycling Times, at http://www.wasteage.com/default.htm, publishes a number of publications that focus on the solid waste/recycling industry.
Resource Recycling focuses on recycling issues, production, shipment, and export data. 1206 N.W. 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97209-1609. (503) 227-1319. E-mail: Resrecycle@aol.com.
Resource Recycling's Container Recycling Report has container recycling information, market production and price data.1206 N.W. 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97209-1609. (503) 227-1319. E-mail: Resrecycle@aol.com.
Recycler's World, at http://www.recycle.net/recycle/index.html, is a free worldwide information exchange for those who wish to buy, sell, or trade recyclable commodities, used materials, and collectible items. Secondary materials can be direct marketed through this free-access public site. Price information is available.
Recycling Manager (http://grn.com/grn/prices/rm-prices.htm) publishes free-access U.S. prices and commodity market summaries. Prices are based on representative volumes delivered to consumers in each market area.
U.S. EPA's Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 1997 Update, at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/mswrpt97/msw97re.pdf, is widely considered the authoritative source for MSW generation, recovery, and disposal data, and also has good general information about recycling infrastructure and source reduction (waste prevention).
Waste Age (http://www.wasteage.com/) publishes a number of publications that focus on the solid waste/recycling markets/industry, including the Recycling Times, which contains recycling market information and price data. Published by Environmental Industry Associations, 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008, (800) 829-5443.
Plastic Recycling http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Plastic/
Melissa Vargas: mvargas@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6271