Recycling Re-education in New Jersey Center for Government Services Conference Eric Gabrielson Recycling Consultant March 19, 2015 What are we covering? Material values/current recycling markets Vendor Selection Product quality The impact of China s Green Fence Public education 1
Number 1 priority of a recycling program Availability to receive material throughout the life of a contract. Current Events in NJ. Cooler heads are prevailing The evaporating rebate Another hard winter Natural gas growing Thinning of the ranks 2
Current Values the commodity roller coaster HDPE Natural 50% value reduction since November 2014 HDPE Pigmented 40% value reduction since November 2014 OCC losing value since January 2014 No.8 News dropping steadily since third quarter of 2014 The good news is.. Aluminum stagnant Commodity values Historical chart of average commodity prices based on a standard mix of resources (ONP, OCC, Plastics, Aluminum, Ferrous Metals, and Glass) across a national footprint. Feb 15 3
How did we get here? Depressed oil market Chinese economy cooling Strong U.S. Dollar US economy growing but slowly An almost perfect storm Begin G.F. Oil $100/barrel. $52 $1,200.00 $1,000.00 $800.00 $600.00 $400.00 $200.00 $- PET HD Natrual HD Colored OCC No.8 News 4
The steady decline in fiber $140.00 Historical Pricing Domestic Fiber - PPI $120.00 $100.00 $80.00 $60.00 $40.00 $20.00 $- OCC No.8 News Is recycling still worth doing? Yes! It s the law. And.NJ type 10 tip fee savings add up South of Monmouth and Mercer is $75.96 per ton Monmouth/Mercer and north average $93.56 per ton Town of 5,000 homes 12 pounds of recycling per week Producing ~1560 tons of recycling per year your tip fee savings are $118,500 in South NJ $145,900 in North NJ 5
What does it all mean?? Recycling in NJ is still strong still more affordable than landfilling Markets have dropped before mirror economic growth True partnership with end markets remain the best play Markets will rebound (low oil = low energy = economic growth) Marketing your materials = 6
Your next contract. To bid or rfp, that is the question! Bids Include a bond for performance Secure financial information about partner Locks Municipality into lowest responsible bidder RFP s Allows flexibility with respondents Avails respondent creativity Flexible in decision making Can show you what you don t know Bid/RFP suggestions Avoid the boiler plate! Consult likely respondents Look at neighboring towns specs Don t shop for food in a hardware store! Keep it to recycling only Try not to pigeon hole your partners financially Considering Single Stream?? Create options for comparison shopping Report card style format 7
Report Card Adds weights to important elements in relationship Encourages generator to consider total cost of ownership Rebate 30% Distance from town 30% Credit history 15% Education 10% Facility/Ability to perform 15% Revenue Share - Rebates Before a rebate all commodities have a cost to process High floors false sense of security $0 floors are debatable Fixed pricing creates winner/loser format Equation of Commodity Revenue $100 Minus Process Cost -$ 75 Equals shareable revenue $25 divided by??? 8
Who to partner with. Safe Liquid Proven Dilligence is king Is your partner as invested as you are? 9
Product quality What s the big deal?? Single stream has received a bad rap Garbage in equals garbage out Global partners refusing Glass issues Trash is magnified in poor commodity markets No matter what stream you employ weather is an issue. 20 10
Happy Birthday to Green Fence!! Green Fence aka The New Normal What is Green Fence? - February 2013 November 2013, the Chinese government initiated a policy known as Operation Green Fence to prevent residue from entering their country - Intent was to enforce existing laws regarding wet/contaminated bales of plastics, fiber, and scrap metal How did it start? - Relaxed QC at end market and processor level - Green Fence is focused on reversing that trend 11
World economic affect on markets Annual percentage growth 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0-2 GDP Growth USA:China -4 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 China 8.4 8.3 9.1 10 10.1 11.3 12.7 14.2 9.6 9.2 10.4 9.3 7.7 7.7 USA 4.1 1 1.8 2.8 3.8 3.3 2.7 1.8-0.3-2.8 2.5 1.6 2.3 2.2 China USA Who does it affect and how?? All stakeholders in the U.S. recycling industry have been impacted directly or indirectly MRF operators have had serious problems with rejected loads Chinese government will inspect every imported bale and container and reject any shipment containing 1.5% or more contaminants and/or moisture of 12%. Containers that fail inspection will be returned to sender, without ability to redirect 12
Summarizing the Impact China 2013 MRF 2013/14 Generator - 2014 Resident - 2015 Economy Residue Penalty Processing Education Quality Education Options Education Acceptables Quick Q&A Is anyone confused about what is and is not acceptable material? Are processors backpedaling?? Consult your local MRF as a partner Single Stream Convenient but not magic 13
Recycling Re-education You mean you can t recycle garden hose?! Pre Green Fence lenience Residential Fiber: Brown Paper Bags Cereal Boxes Chipboard Corrugated Cardboard Hardcover Books Junk Mail Magazines Milk Cartons Newspaper Office Paper Paperback Books Telephone Books Wrapping Paper Commingled: PET - 2-liter soft drink bottles, cooking oil, peanut butter jars HDPE - Detergent bottles, milk jugs LDPE - Dry cleaning bags, produce bags, food storage containers PVC - Plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink wrap, water bottles, salad dressing, liquid detergent containers PP - Bottle caps, drinking straws, yogurt containers PS - Packing peanuts, cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, takeout food clam shell containers Other - Plastic found on certain types of food containers, Tupperware, Nalgene bottles 14
Review acceptables with your processor Educate together!! Waste Management.. 15
ReCommunity Recycling Foundations For Success for Program Success Top down support of government State, County, Local Sustainable infrastructure Financial incentive User friendly Continuous education Smart shopping 16
Q & A Thank You!! 17