After China's National Sword policy banned the import of several recyclable materials, curbside residential recycling programs faced challenges in some communities. Since early 2020, there has been a strong recovery in commodity prices for discarded materials, which is having a positive impact on local recycling programs. The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has published a report on how recycling markets have strongly recovered since National Sword.
According to SWANA, the prices and demand for recyclables from municipal curbside recycling programs have rebounded and are close to record highs in the United States and Canada. The report quantifies how much recycling prices have recovered from 2020 lows and discusses how increased demand for recovered paper from residential generators, new domestic markets, and consumer brand commitments to use recycled materials have led to improved market conditions.
"One of the very few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the remarkable recovery of recycling prices," stated David Biderman, SWANA's CEO and Executive Director. "This is encouraging investments in new technologies at MRFs and new carts at municipalities," he added.
