The October issue of The Marketplace is available at: http://waste.ky.gov/RLA/recycling/Pages/Marketplace.aspx
The top stories in this month’s edition include the following:
RISI Study Eyes OCC Scarcity
A new report from Boston-based research from RISI examines the old corrugated
containers (OCC) market for the next 15 years and predicts conditions that “will eventually limit availability of high quality OCC at reasonable prices,” according to Recycling Today. In a press release announcing the new report, titled “OCC/UKP Market Analysis and Outlook,” RISI comments that “containerboard markets have enjoyed historically low OCC prices since the peak in 2011. However, market dynamics are changing. Market
shares of containerboard grades with high recycled fiber content are expected to continue to rise over the next 15 years. Over the same period, virgin fiber content in the world containerboard sector will decline.”
Continues RISI, “In response, containerboard producers in some regions will have to make adjustments to maintain overall quality of their finished products and achieve better profit margins. Producers may respond by increasing mix of unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) or starting up new virgin containerboard machines.”
Hannah Zhao, a senior economist at RISI and the study’s lead author, remarks, “According to our latest forecasts, OCC demand will continue to grow. The global OCC recovery rate will have to climb even higher to support additional capacity in the recycled containerboard segment. OCC availability, therefore, may become a significant issue again in the future—as we saw in 2011.”
Adds Zhao, “The study offers insight into which regions may see virgin containerboard capacity in the future. It also identifies regions that will compete with others in search for OCC supply.” The study includes a 15-year forecast and also provides scenario analysis on OCC prices. Other topics covered include: the capacity, production, demand and trade of containerboard in key world regions; OCC consumption, recovery, recovery rates, prices, global trade and quality issues; UKP consumption, trade and production in key world regions; existing market UKP producers, capacity and constraints and a cost comparison of OCC and UKP, as well as break-even points.
For more information about this study and RISI, visit http://www.risiinfo.com/.
ISRI, OSHA Team Up On Safety
According to Resource Recycling, The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is aiming to beef up its health and safety programming through an alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The alliance will support ISRI’s member-driven messaging and guidance on a number of key recycling workplace hazards identified by OSHA. “We know that further efforts are still needed,” stated Doug Kramer, who is chair of ISRI and president of Los Angeles-based Kramer Metals. “Now with the support of OSHA behind us, ISRI will be able to provide even greater resources for our members to ensure their workers return home safely to their families every night.”
The development of a “culture of safety within the scrap recycling industry,” ISRI says, will be forged primarily through a greater awareness of OSHA’s existing protocols and safety recommendations as well as industry-tailored trainings and programming. OSHA, which if an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor, has been particularly active in monitoring and regulating workplace exposure to hazardous materials.
The group recently doled out a six-figure fine to electronics recycling company Kuusakoski after an inspection identified 26 serious worker safety violations. As part of the alliance, ISRI and OSHA will partner yearround on a number of events, including the annual ISRI’s Safety Stand-Down Day and the ISRI convention.
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