Take plastics, for example. As reported in Waste Age's November 15 issue of Recycling Times, the American Plastics Council, Association of Post Consumer Plastic Recyclers, and the National Association for Plastic Container Recovery recently issued a press release broadcasting the lack of PET and HDPE bottles. As reported in the November 1 issue of Recycling Times, the situation with paper is similar. According to Andy Waters, manager of Smurfit Waste Reduction Services, fiber supplies are falling behind demand. These national trends in market expansion for recyclables are mirrored locally as well.
Plastics are strong.
In an effort to link buyers and sellers of recyclables, the National Recycling Coalition and the Chicago Board of Trade has developed a demonstration trading system using the Board of Trade's electronic cash exchange. The project will initially list glass, PET, and HDPE, and may eventually include listings for paper. Funding for the project has been supplied by the EPA and the American Plastics Council.