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The Northeast Recycling Council (“NERC”) issued a report titled:

Report on Blended Commodity Values in the Northeast (“Report”)

The period covered by the Report is April – June 2019.

NERC describes its role as supporting recycling market development and opportunities for improvements in an 11-state region. The states include:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

The Report is stated to be a result of a partnership with the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association which determined that:

. . . having information about the value of commodities processed by the region’s Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) would be extremely helpful for assessing regional trends and would serve as an educational tool for promoting improved residential recycling and participation.

The Report addressed the following scrap commodities:

• UBC (aluminum cans)
• Steel Cans
• PET (plastic #1)
• HDPE Natural (plastic #2)
• HDPE Colored (plastic #2)
• Polypropylene (plastic #5)
• #’s 3-7 Plastics
• Bulky Rigid Plastics
• OCC Grade #11 (corrugated cardboard)
• Mixed Paper Grade #54
• Aseptic and Gable-top Cartons (Grade #52)
• Clear Glass Containers
• Green Glass Containers
• Brown Glass Containers
• 3 Mix Glass Containers
• Residue

The questions addressed by the Report include:

• Average Percent of Outbound Tons Marketed per Commodity in 2018
  • Average commodity value per ton with residuals: $45.83
  • Average commodity value per ton without residuals: $51.65
• Gate Tipping Fees and Residual Processing Cost
  • Average gate tipping fee per ton:
    • $38 for municipal (municipal with contracts)
    • $48 for commercial or municipal without contracts)
  • Average processing cost per ton: $82

A copy of the Report can be downloaded here.