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Highlands Today

Steep Price Drop Crushes Recycling Business

Bill Rettew Jr./Highlands Today

Rather than toss it in the trash, Stephen Palchik recycles card board boxes at the Sweetbay parking lot.

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By BILL RETTEW JR.

Highlands Today

Published: December 5, 2008

SEBRING - A major drop in prices for recyclable materials has forced a local scrap yard and the Highlands County Recycling Department to store much of what it takes in.

Since November, the price paid to the county for aluminum is down 85 percent, newsprint is worth $10 a ton - after selling once for $105 a ton - and steel cans have dropped in value from $267 per ton to $13 per ton.

Christy Reed, program manager, anticipates that prices will rise sometime next year. The department might then sell off all the steel and aluminum cans, steel material and plastic materials it is storing.

"We're playing it by ear - one step at a time," said Reed.

The recycling program is staffed by four full-timers and is subsidized by the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. It has never paid for itself solely by revenues generated from reselling collected materials.

"Anything we get is icing on the cake," said Reed.

Reed said revenues are projected to drop from last year's sales of $360,000 - "a stellar year" - to less than half that amount.

Ken Wheeler is the Highlands County Solid Waste director. He predicted Wednesday that the county will receive more bulk recyclable items, since the scrap yards are also paying significantly less to the public.

"With prices low, it's not worth the gas to take an old washing machine to the junkyard," said Wheeler. "We'll end up getting more recyclables. They leave it at the curb and it comes to us."

Wheeler blamed the price drop on a worldwide recession and said the Asian market is directly affecting prices here.

"The market has always fluctuated," said Wheeler. "As long as it appears financially feasible, we shouldn't have to pay an outside vendor to take our recyclables."

Dale Reed is manager at Jim's Auto Salvage Scrap Metal. Low prices have cut his business by more than half.

Reed said he hasn't been able to sell off recyclables to his regular buyer and is holding on to almost everything collected, while he hopes for a possible price increase Jan. 1.

"We're just waiting like everyone else for the price to pick up," he said.

Reed expects residents to continue to recycle.

"The reason to recycle is still the same," said Reed. "The reason is not to make money."

Wheeler agreed.

The flow of recyclables is still there, the demand just dropped when the price went down," said Wheeler. "The people who like to recycle will continue to recycle."

Bill Rettew Jr. may be contacted at 863-386-5857 or wrettew@highlandstoday.com

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