Rising Oil Prices Make Plastic Recycling More Valuable
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 08.30.05
The cost of plastic is following the rise in oil prices, boosting the value of recycled plastic. When oil hit $66 per barrel recently, almost double the price of a year ago, a shipment of recycled milk jugs climbed to 28 cents per pound, up from about 15 cents a pound. Since plastic is made from oil, along with natural gas, increases in those prices are generally matched by increases in the price for recycled plastic. Despite the value of recycled plastic, it remains largely untapped, and percentage of plastic recycled is still very low. :: The Register-Guard
In the US commodity polymers are typically made from natural gas feedstock. Same point stands however, to the the extent the price for both oil and natural gas tend to loosely parallel each other of late.
I have to wonder about the practicality of this information. I mean, if the price of oil goes up, the cost to transport recycled plastic also goes up (at least until we shift to a hydrogen economy or electric shipment trucks). So even though the plastic is more valuable, the cost to transport it is greater so the overall value won't be effected as much.
I have to wonder if that $0.28/lb figure includes the cost of harvesting all the jugs in the first place and if any subsidies are involved.
-Riskable
"I have a license to kill -9"
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