Via MRW I see that UK paper mills are finding it easier to acquire materials with fewer contaminants than previously, as a possible result of the introduction of China's green fence policy.
This is consistent with my views of the outlook for dry recyclabes markets overall. I think we are going to witness a combination of: lower primary commodity prices; higher consumer consumption in overseas markets (thereby reducing their demand for imports); and continuing upward supply of domestic recyclate supplies (driven by regulation and landfill tax). These will combine to put downward pressure on prices for secondary resources and to shift the bargaining power along the UK supply chain in favour of domestic reprocessors.
The MRF Code of Practice should soon be with us and I believe will ultimately be lauded as a great success in helping to drive up the quality of UK recyclate. But at the same time I suspect that wider market dynamics would have led to reduced contamination and more consistent material quality in any event.
