Recycling
7 Benefits of Selling Recyclables Domestic
Jennifer Brown
How can we be green, create jobs, stimulate the economy and make money all at the same time? Recycling. Scrap materials are now the nation’s largest export category by volume, and continue to set yearly records. In 2010, nearly $30 billion in recycled commodities were sent overseas.
With cheap overseas freight, offshore options may seem like a tempting outlet, but there are a number of other factors to be considered.
Environmental
The fuel required to send scrap more than 6,000 miles is clearly not very environmentally friendly, or for that matter, efficient. A large part of sustainability is dealing locally, however, besides just transportation energy, what happens to these materials once they get there? With regulations severely lacking, harmful chemicals are often leached into the air and water; in addition poor working conditions often result in a low-quality product. By keeping scrap local, we can save energy in transportation as well as know where and how it is being used.
Natural Resources
Most people don’t consider our waste as a natural resource, but this is very much the case. Glass, aluminum, paper and plastic are all valuable resources with a high demand right here in the U.S. Plastic is especially interesting since it is produced from oil—the same oil that we work very hard to secure. What are we doing with it? Even for those materials hard to recycle, plastic to oil technology is here, and it works.
Stability
With fluctuating currencies and array of outside forces, export markets are notoriously unstable. When prices drop overseas or demand decreases, MRFs are left with bales piling up and no alternative outlets. For example, what happens if the market drops during the long commute across water? If you haven’t received payment in advance, bales can be turned away for any number of reasons. Since overseas transitions take significantly longer to organize and execute, there is an increased risk of these market fluctuations as well as the challenge of arranging delivery at crowded ports within specific windows of time. Keeping material in the US eliminates these risks and leads to reliable pricing for future planning and projections.
Quality
Offshore buyers often have a higher tolerance for unwanted material, essentially allowing MRFs to lower the quality of their bales. Although it may be tempting for operators wanting to move material, it can come back to bite them in the end. When offshore demand drops, MRFs are stuck with low quality bales, worth less and harder to sell domestically. Getting used to poor quality is bad for the industry as a whole and certainly moves us in the wrong direction. There is value in consistency; if quality is consistent across the industry, it is easier for everyone to sell their bales and create flexibility across the board.
Relationships
Relationships are important. Establishing consistent relationships abroad is a challenge for many reasons. There is often a strong language barrier, which could lead to miscommunications and ultimately dollar signs. It is much harder to fully understand your customer’s process, which means you must learn to understand how to improve efficiencies for both parties. As collection infrastructure develops abroad, processors will lessen their demand for imported recyclables. Trying to create relationships overseas also means an opportunity cost for local relationships. Deciding to choose an overseas buyer could put a sour taste in the mouths of your local buyers. When export prices drop, those domestic buyers may not be so keen to help you unload your material—especially not for the previous price. Overall, building and neutering domestic relationships allows for stronger partnerships and limitless growth opportunities for both parties.
Conflict Resolution
There is nothing fun about shipping something 6,000 miles only to have it rejected and returned to you. Not only are conflicts more likely to occur when selling abroad, they’re also more challenging to resolve. Payment disputes in particular can be a lost cause; you may end up tracking down people in towns no one has ever heard of. Dealing with customs can be frustrating; restrictions and laws that aren’t clear or not regularly enforced leads to uncertainty. When you’re dealing with something considered “waste”, many countries fear hazardous material and unwanted risk. Most likely you will have to pay someone to help you navigate customs policies, adding more time and cost. Dealing locally provides the comfort of clear U.S. laws and regulations along with the ability to solve conflicts in a much more simple and timely manner.
Jobs
Last, but certainly not least, we need jobs and the recycling industry can provide them. Technology has improved and recycling can be profitable. Processing material here supports our communities and keeps money local, benefitting everyone. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, out of every 10,000 tons of solid waste going to landfills, one job is created. That same amount of waste—kept out of landfills—can create 10 recycling jobs or 75 materials reuse jobs. By selling recyclables domestic, more workers will be needed to collect, sort and process the material. Recycling creates jobs that require people with a broad range of skill levels and experience.
The recycling industry is at a unique point in its history and growing faster than ever, not just in the quality of material, but also in technological capabilities. Recycling makes sense—environmentally and economically. Recycling is a readily available practical solution to recover valuable natural resources, conserve landfill space, reduce material costs and lessen total energy consumption.
Jennifer Brown is Business Development Analyst at MRC Polymers, Recycling Solutions (Chicago, IL) with a focus on developing cutting edge, sustainable plastic processing. MRC has 30 years’ experience in compounding engineered resins from post-industrial and post-consumer waste streams. For inquiries please contact Jennifer at (773) 890 – 5566 or via email at [email protected].