2010 has started off with a increasing lack of supply for the demands that the paper and plastic consumers are placing on them. Prices have moved up proportionately, and while we do not anticipate huge jumps like we saw last year, we do see a steady recovery with few bumps along the way.
When you combine the demand with our weather most of the country has experienced which hampers collections and overall generation, it is fairly easy to see how this is causing the shortage. The general economy, improving manufacturing, greater distribution, increased recycling programs that are now sustainable with the help of higher prices and markets and some shortages of export containers, all add to improving markets.
This will not continue and could flatten out over the next few months, but with the adverse supply factors, markets should remain stable. While we have seen fairly steady improvements and the re-capturing of pricing by demand, let’s keep in mind that we still remain far below the highs attained in the late months of ’08. Also keep in mind that those markets were unrealistically high, and doubtful we will be back to them any time in the near future.
The economy has a very long way to go in recovery. These improvements we’ve all seen are wonderful, but with hundreds of thousands of people out of work, many markets way off the pace such as housing and the failures that have happened, and will continue this year, it will be some time for stability.
On a local note, I would be remiss not to mention that our solid waste authority, SWACO who continuously seeks the publicity and hoopla of recycling but never, or at least rarely mentions their failures, has now announced that their local, highly publicized JITTERS program will end in March of this year. Interesting that they didn’t have the same hoopla with this failure as well as four other private companies that unfortunitly failed or never got off the ground after SWACO promised the moon. How long will Columbus put up with all this? It is really sad.
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