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[greenyes] RPET Shortage


In response to my posting about shortfalls in supply of R-PET, Doug asks:
"Anybody have a guess as to the importance of spiraling energy prices in
driving the demand for recycled PET?"


I have been too busy on landfills to dig into that question, but the
industry's belief is generally that it is the demand from China that's the
cause.

However, conceptually, higher energy prices do help recycling in that
recycling has a fixed cost of processing, which means that when virgin
prices are low (due in part to low energy prices), recycling has real
problems being competitive with its effectively off-spec product, and when
virgin prices are high (due again in part to high energy prices), recycling
can be far more competitive.

Remember though that the energy benchmark for PET is natural gas and not
oil.

Peter



_________________________
Peter Anderson, President
RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING
4513 Vernon Blvd. Suite 15
Madison, WI 53705-4964
Ph: (608) 231-1100
Fax: (608) 233-0011
Cell: (608) 698-1314
eMail: anderson@no.address
web: www.recycleworlds.net



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