Monday, December 08, 2008

Garbage 1, Recycling 0

As discussed in my little essay at Lib Fund's "Econlib", problems can arise when one ignores markets and economics in a market economy.....

From the NYT:

The precipitous drop in prices for recyclables makes the stock market’s performance seem almost enviable.

On the West Coast, for example, mixed paper is selling for $20 to $25 a ton, down from $105 in October, according to Official Board Markets, a newsletter that tracks paper prices. And recyclers say tin is worth about $5 a ton, down from $327 earlier this year. There is greater domestic demand for glass, so its price has not fallen as much.

This is a cyclical industry that has seen price swings before. The scrap market in general is closely tied to economic conditions because demand for some recyclables tracks closely with markets for new products. Cardboard, for instance, turns into the boxes that package electronics, rubber goes to shoe soles, and metal is made into auto parts.

One reason prices slid so rapidly this time is that demand from China, the biggest export market for recyclables from the United States, quickly dried up as the global economy slowed. China’s influence is so great that in recent years recyclables have been worth much less in areas of the United States that lack easy access to ports that can ship there.

The downturn offers some insight into the forces behind the recycling boom of recent years. Environmentally conscious consumers have been able to pat themselves on the back and feel good about sorting their recycling and putting it on the curb. But most recycling programs have been driven as much by raw economics as by activism.

Cities and their contractors made recycling easy in part because there was money to be made. Businesses, too — like grocery chains and other retailers — have profited by recycling thousands of tons of materials like cardboard each month.

But the drop in prices has made the profits shrink, or even disappear, undermining one rationale for recycling programs and their costly infrastructure.


(Nod to Mr. Overwater)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

this has really interested me this year...i manage a plastic processor's inventory. Part of my job is to sell scrap. Basically the market has dried up completely. Right now sellers are trying to show losses for tax reasons. by unloading scrap, and there are no buyers. At one point, Chinese buyers would take anything, now even they are holding back.

we are now throwing stuff in the garbage because no one will buy it.

yoshimi said...

Look, someone agrees with you!
http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/science-or-garbage/