Similarly, GFL Environmental CFO Luke Pelosi said recycled-commodity pricing fell 33% on the year, with February prices about 20% lower than the 2025 average. “Commodities continued to be a drag on margins with market pricing decelerating another 10% from Q3,” Pelosi added.
They tell us China has a major investment in petrochemicals and plastics. They are flooding the western markets driving down prices.
We know quite a few ways to increase use of recycled plastics. Requiring reporting of percent recycled in consumer packaging is a beginning. Tax on virgin plastics is another. Limiting production quantities.
A UN committee is working on this but with much opposition from the petro industry. If fossil fuels go away, petro becomes mostly a maker of plastics. Plastics are their future.
Congress can take action any time it wants but immigration reform is probably easier.
Republic does have highly automated plastics recycling plants that make excellent quality recycled plastic pellets.