Weak demand pushes prices lower

Recycled plastics prices fell across the board during September and October. The economic downturn and fear of a recession have severely weakened demand. In addition, as the cost of virgin polymers tumbled in recent months, a number of converters and brand owners elected to switch from recyclate to lower-priced virgin material for products where sustainability is not a key selling point.

In view of the weak demand and falling prices, recyclers have been unable to pass through higher energy costs onto converters. As a result, the profitability of plastics recycling has been undermined. Recyclers are responding by either taking an unprofitable line out of production or by completely shutting down recycling facilities.

The cutback in production has so far been insufficient to stabilise recycled plastics prices due to the very weak demand. Hence, material availability has been sufficient to meet overall demand over the last two months.

R-PET clear flake and clear food grade pellet prices have fallen by €120-130/tonne over the last two months. R-PET coloured flake prices, where demand has been more resilient, have only fallen by €40-50/tonne. R-LDPE film prices have fallen by €140-160/tonne since the start of September. R-HDPE prices have fallen by €130-140/tonne over the same period. R-PP copolymer prices are down by €150/tonne with R-PP homopolymer prices down by €120/tonne. R-HIPS prices have fallen by €140/tonne.

Weak end user demand and further switching by some consumer goods producers from recycled to lower-priced virgin material is likely to put further downward pressure on recycled plastics prices in November. To achieve better market balance and restore price stability, more recyclers are expected to consider either reducing production or shutting down recycling facilities altogether.

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET)
R-PET prices have been quite resilient to the impact of declining demand in recent months but succumbed to lower sales in September. Clear R-PET pellets and clear flake prices declined by €50/tonne while coloured flake prices dropped by €30/tonne.
Demand weakened further at the start of the low season and the high price levels also deterred sales. Some converters switched to lower-priced standard PET for products that had not been advertise for their sustainability credentials.
There was ample supplies of bottle scrap to meet demand; bottle scrap prices softened by around €25/tonne.
In October, the price decline for clear R-PET pellets and clear flake materials gathered pace with price rebates of around €70-80/tonne. R-PET demand was low at the start of the off-season for the beverage industry. Coloured flake prices, where demand was more resilient, fell by only €20-30/tonne. Overall, production was sufficient to cover contracted volumes despite some production cutbacks.

Recycled low-density polyethylene (R-LDPE)
R-LDPE prices fell sharply in September on weakening demand. Film grades were discounted by €80-100/tonne while black extrusion grade pries dropped by €60-70/tonne. Recyclers largely failed in their attempt to pass through higher energy costs onto buyers. As a result, many recyclers are being forced to either trim production or shut down facilities in order to stem losses. Nevertheless, material availability remained generally adequate.
A downturn in the economy has dampened overall demand for recyclate and some brand owners have opted to switch to lower-priced off-spec standard material, where feasible.
R-LDPE prices have maintained a downward trajectory in October due to continued weak demand and competition from lower-priced virgin material. As a result, recyclers were unable to pass through higher energy costs. As profitability has been squeezed even further, a number of recyclers have either reduced production or shut down facilities altogether.

Recycled high-density polyethylene (R-HDPE)
In September, R-HDPE prices fell again as a result of weak demand and competition from virgin material. Coloured blow moulding pellet prices were down by €50/tonne and black injection moulding pellets prices fell by €80/tonne. Recyclers’ attempts to factor in higher energy costs largely failed.
Recyclers of HDPE are suffering from very low demand as a result of the economic slowdown and switching of product from recyclate to lower-priced standard material, where possible. Automotive and E&E were the worst performing end use sectors for R-HDPE products.
In October, weak demand and growing competition from falling standard HDPE prices contributed to a further fall in R-HDPE prices. Coloured blow moulding pellet prices were €80/tonne down on September with black injection moulding pellet prices down by €60/tonne.

Recycled polypropylene (R-PP)
R-PP prices fell sharply in September due to weak demand, despite rising energy costs. Black copolymer pellet prices dropped by €100/tonne while black homopolymer pellet prices were €50/tonne lower. The inability of recyclers to raise prices sufficiently to cover higher energy costs has resulted in production cutbacks and the shutdown of several recycling facilities
The economic downturn has weakened demand for recyclate while material availability remained generally sufficient to fulfil contractual obligations.
R-PP prices continued to decline during October as weak demand more than offset production cutbacks. Both black homopolymer and black copolymer prices fell by €60/tonne.

Recycled high-impact polystyrene (R-HIPS)
R-HIPS prices crashed by up to €100/tonne in September in the face of weakening demand. A sharp reduction in virgin HIPS prices is also piling competitive pressure on recyclate prices. There was sufficient material available to meet contractual obligations.
In October, R-HIPS prices dropped on average by a further €40/tonne as a result of continued weak demand and a growing competition from the falling prices of standard HIPS material. In November, recyclers plan to reduce production more in step with demand