I linked recently to a Washington Post article on how the economics of recycling have been less favorable lately. Not so fast, says Philadelphia Magazine, or at least not everywhere. While it is true that Philadelphia has gone from making money on recycling to paying for it over the last year, it is still cheaper than landfilling or incineration. This article also illustrates how complicated global dynamics affect the local economics.
China (the largest importer of American recycled materials) is no longer sustaining an insane annual GDP growth rate of 10 percent, weakening demand for raw materials; the Chinese are also getting pickier about the quality of recycled materials; the cost of petroleum has been free-falling over the past year, making new plastic much cheaper to make and recycled plastic less cost competitive. There was also the nine-month labor dispute with West Coast dock workers that prevented lots of recycled materials from reaching overseas markets — costing MRFs money.
