In a previous article I wrote for the CIWM Journal Online, I commented, from a policy perspective, on the problems facing the UK recycling sector because of competition from lower-priced virgin material, coupled with a slump in the global prices for recyclates. This combination of market conditions has hit plastics recycling particularly hard, resulting in several high-profile plant closures. But the problem is not confined to plastics - other secondary raw materials (SRM] we collect for recycling, such as metals and paper, are also affected. Because economic sectors are interconnected in terms of their raw material inputs, commodity prices tend to shadow each other, as the Commodity Markets Outlook for April 2015, published by the World Bank, shows. The fall in oil prices mirrors a fall in ferrous metal and precious metal prices, as well as for food products. With ferrous metals for example, a market surplus of virgin raw material (VRM] coupled with weakening demand from China has depressed prices, putting pressure on secondary metals.
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