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[GreenYes] Solid Waste Authority to close satellite drops due to Plummeting values for recyclables


Title: [GreenYes] Solid Waste Authority to close satellite drops due to Plummeting values for recyclables

As previously discussed, this appears to be the anticipated outcome of the
falling commodity values...

November 8, 2008

Solid Waste Authority to close satellite drops - Slack Street center will
continue to accept recyclables
Plummeting values for recyclables are forcing the Kanawha County Solid Waste
Authority to close its satellite drop-off points immediately.
By Rusty Marks
Staff writer
Gazette Mail

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Plummeting values for recyclables are forcing the
Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority to close its satellite drop-off points
immediately.

Authority Director Norm Steenstra said drop-off points in Cross Lanes,
Southridge, Sissonville, Chelyan, Clendenin and Elkview will be closed until
further notice. County residents can still bring their recyclable materials
to the recycling center on Slack Street in Charleston.

In the past few weeks, Steenstra said, the bottom has dropped out of the
market for all recyclable materials. He blames the crash on a bad economy.

"We haven't shipped any cardboard out for several weeks," he said. "We
usually ship six or seven trucks a week.

"We're getting more stuff in than ever, but we can't sell it."

Steenstra said the Solid Waste Authority has been making money for the past
several years selling cardboard, newsprint, plastic and other recyclable
materials. Not anymore.

In September, he said, Steenstra was getting $115 a ton for used cardboard.
"I can't even find a market at $30 [a ton] now," he said.

Steenstra said the Solid Waste Authority brought in $111,000 in revenue from
recyclables in September. That number will plummet to about $37,000 in
November, he said.

The blow is especially hard for Steenstra, who has always been a staunch
environmentalist.

"I'm the one that put the drop-off in Cross Lanes, and it breaks my heart,"
he said. "For 20 years I've been trying to increase recycling rates in West
Virginia. But if you can't sell it, what are you going to do?"

Closing the satellite drops will mean people in other parts of the county
will have to store their recyclables, bring them to Slack Street or put them
in the landfill. He hopes they don't throw them away.

For his part, Steenstra said the Solid Waste Authority will keep selling
recyclable material for whatever they can get and hope for the best. He
hopes the slump will be over within six months or a year.

Best Regards,
Bob
Bob Wallace
Principal & V.P. Business Solutions
WIH Resource Group
Environmental & Logistical SolutionsTM
Phone:  480.241.9994 ~ Fax:  623.505.2634
E-mail:  bwallace@no.address
Website:  www.wihresourcegroup.com
Website:  www.wastesavings.net


-----Original Message-----
From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On Behalf
Of Susan Kinsella
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 6:38 AM
To: Ann Schneider; GreenYes@no.address
Subject: [GreenYes] Re: recycling markets - source separated v single stream


I am hearing that domestic paper mills are now able to drive down the prices
they pay for fiber and they can now choose among sources for the highest
quality. This means that single stream processors with commingled bales of
fiber are in the weakest position and they're the ones scrambling for
storage facilities because they're having trouble selling their materials.

Clean, sorted fibers have the widest market options. Only a limited subset
of mills can use commingled fibers, so the more processors that produce
that, the more limited their options.

Susan Kinsella

--
Susan Kinsella
Executive Director
Conservatree
San Francisco, CA
http://www.conservatree.org


On 11/8/08 4:43 PM, "Ann Schneider" <schneiderann@no.address> wrote:

>
> Hi:
>
> Just curious if anyone can tell if the current down market is making
> source separated materials more salable than single stream materials.  Or
> is it too soon to tell if the tightening markets are pushing for higher
> quality materials.
>
> Ann Schneider





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