WRAP steps up support for struggling recyclers

The government's waste advisor WRAP has today stepped up its efforts to address the global slump in demand for recyclable materials, launching a new online forum to help local authorities tackle the challenges presented by falling prices for the material they collect.

Prices for many recyclable materials have slumped in recent months as recycling firms, primarily in China, have seen demand for their end products fall as a result of the global economic downturn. Consequently, they have reduced their demand for recyclable waste material from Europe leading to slumping prices and leaving many waste collection firms unable to offload collected recylate.

Industry insiders claim the market has recovered fractionally since prices initially collapsed earlier this autumn, but at one point the price of a tonne of cardboard plummet from around £40 a tonne to being virtually worthless.

The weak market has left many waste management firms and local authorities facing serious problems as they have had to continue collecting recyclate or risk alienating customers and tax payers, but have been unable to sell on much of the material and have been left having to find new storage facilities.

Now WRAP is seeking to tackle the problem with the launch of a new "online market knowledge portal and tailor-made advice forum" designed to provide local authorities with better insight into the price movements of different recyclates and help them develop the best strategy to ensure as much material as possible is recycled.

The agency hopes that by keeping authorities informed of different levels of demand for different types of recyclate it can help them maximise the amount of waste that is recycled and ensure that material that still has a reasonable market value, such as plastic bottles and glass, is recycled and not kept in storage, or worse still sent to landfill.

Liz Goodwin, chief executive at WRAP said that despite the weak demand recycling firms and local authorities should continue to collect recyclable waste and promote recycling as widely as possible.

"In these uncertain markets with low demand for some recycled products, the message to householders is clear: there are markets for most materials and we should continue to recycle," she said. "Many local authorities have told us that they are continuing to find markets for recovered materials, particularly high quality materials such as plastic bottles and glass. The vast majority of materials that are being put out for recycling are still being recycled."

The new website comes just weeks after the Environment Agency also moved to address the collapse in the market for recyclate by releasing new guidelines designed to make it easier for firms to store increasing amounts of recyclable material until demand recovers.