The price of natural HDPE jumped by nearly 25% over the past month and is now approaching the record high values it achieved at the beginning of the year.
The national average price for natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is now 55.13 cents per pound, compared with 44.44 cents last month and 25.88 cents one year ago. In some regions, it is now trading as high as 60.00 cents per pound.
This has been a year of ups and downs for natural HDPE. In January, the average price hit 59.47 cents, a recent high, but it fell over the following three months. After bottoming out at around 36 cents in May, June and July, the price began another runup starting in August.
The average price of color HDPE skyrocketed this month. It is now trading at 8.63 cents per pound, with some regions paying 12.00 cents. It was 3.83 cents per pound last month.
The national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars dropped 10% this month. PET is currently at 6.50 cents per pound, compared to 7.19 cents per pound this time last month. This compares with 10.72 cents per pound one year ago and a high of 17.00 cents per pound in July 2018.
The price of post-consumer polypropylene is up 12%. It is now at 5.25 cents per pound this month, compared with 4.69 cents last month.
The national average price of Grade A film is up 17% this month, now at 8.00 cents, compared with 6.81 cents per pound last month.
Grade B film is now at 3.50 cents per pound, compared to 3.56 cents last month.
Grade C film is at 1.06 cents per pound.
These prices are as reported on the Secondary Materials Pricing (SMP) Index. This pricing represents what is being paid for post-consumer recyclable materials in a sorted, baled format, picked up at most major recycling centers.
For a free trial to SMP’s Online Post-Consumer Pricing Index, visit the Recycling Markets website. You can also contact Christina Boulanger-Bosley at cmb@recyclingmarkets.net or 330-956-8911.
