NERC has published the fourth in its series of quarterly reports on the blended value of a ton of materials marketed at MRFs in the Northeast. This report covers the period from January – March 2020 and is somewhat different from previous reports. NERC received a grant from EPA Region 3 to expand the survey throughout the Region 3 states (adding Virginia and West Virginia to the 10 states previously included in the studies), and to increase the number of MRFs in the existing Region 3 state participants. In addition, an effort was made to expand the number of dual-stream and source-separated MRFs to the reporting mix.
The goal for the EPA Region 3 grant was to both expand the geographic scope and to be able to incorporate information into the analysis that reflects any differences in the value of materials coming from single-stream as compared to dual-stream/source-separated MRFs. As a result, this is the first report to include such information. The latest report reveals some interesting trends:
- The value of a ton of MRF materials increased slightly between the third and fourth quarters, but comparing this quarter to the first quarter of the survey (April – June 2019) the value with and without residuals has decreased.
Average commodity value per ton with residuals compared to the first quarter -12%.
Average commodity value per ton without residuals – 5%.
| April – June 2019 | July – September 2019 | October – December 2019 | January – March 2020 | |
| Value of a Ton With Residuals | $45.83 | $34.85 | $34.92 | $37.93 |
| Value of a Ton Without Residuals | $51.65 | $41.55 | $42.41 | $45.34 |
- The average processing cost per ton: $96/ton. The cost to process has consistently increased quarter to quarter. This quarter represents an increase of 10% over the previous period and an increase of 17% since the survey began.
The survey will be repeated for the quarter from April – June 2020 and a report published of the results.