Recycling cuts: Economy making some recyclables worthless
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
GENTRY ó Economic problems which caused gasoline prices to fall have also brought down the price of scrap materials ó in some cases to zero ó causing Academy Industries Recycling in Gentry to cut back on materials it can accept.
The business, which employs Ozark Adventist Academy students to collect and sort recyclable materials, has provided the community with a free recycling service and has given students a way to help pay for their private high-school tuition.
But because of market conditions, Academy Industries Recycling will have to cut back. It will no longer accept plastic bottles or junk mail.
The center will continue to accept and recycle cardboard, plastic wrap, shrink-wrap, plastic bags, aluminum cans, steel cans, steel and aluminum scrap, copy paper and newspaper, including shredded copy paper.
ì Because of the economy ó it (the price paid for recyclable materials ) has taken a nose dive ó some items they charge to pick up, î Academy Industries manager Dennis Pierson said.
A few months ago, cardboard was worth $ 100 to $ 110 a ton; now itís worth only $ 40 a ton, he said. Scrap steel which was worth $ 170 a ton earlier in the fall, is now bringing only $ 25 a ton.
Plastic soda and water bottles are now worth zero ó nothing ó Pierson said. Nobodyís buying them because the bottles are mostly recycled into carpet, and carpet sales are down because nobody is building or remodeling homes right now.
ì The carpeting business died with the construction business, î Pierson explained.
The price of other plastic recyclables is also down with the price of petroleum, Pierson said. Since oil prices fell from a high of $ 147 a barrel in July to below $ 56 a barrel on Monday, itís cheaper to manufacturer plastics from fresh petroleum than from recycled materials.
And since the United States quit buying products from China, China has no demand for recyclable materials either, Pierson explained.
ì Itís a big chain reaction, î he said.
Pierson said he heard prices will come back up within the next six months. He expects to see the price of plastics go back up with the price of gasoline, but said he would be surprised to see soda and water bottle prices go up for at least two years, because of the reports heís heard that Arkansas has enough empty homes to supply buyers for the next two years.
In the mean time, Academy Industries will keep recycling, focusing on the materials it gets in large amounts. The business is doing lots of internal restructuring too, Pierson said, and trying to work as many students as possible.
He is meeting with Benton County Recycling next week and hopes to work with the the countyís recycling center in some fashion.
ì All I can do is hope and pray for something, î Pierson said.
If prices donít go up soon, Academy Industries may have to start charging customers a small fee for its service in order to cover expenses ó like many other curbside recycling services do ó he said.
ì Itís got me concerned, î Pierson said.
For more information on the recycling center and items it can accept, call Dennis Pierson at 736-2846.
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