Originally published July 4/18 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
I really wasn’t expecting the notice last week.
Effective August 1, the cost of sorting recyclables at the plant in Winnipeg will be increasing to $110.00 per metric ton (tonne).
It is currently $45.00 per tonne.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. China closing its markets didn’t affect us directly as none of our materials went there. But sale of recyclables is part of the market place that is affected by supply and demand. Prices have dropped significantly with the oversupply in North America.
Cardboard prices fell last fall from $90.00/tonne to $40.00.
As the company who sorts loses revenue from selling the recyclables, the cost of sorting must go up.
It seems obvious that we should crunch the numbers to see if it still pays to have our sorting done in Winnipeg. However, money is only part of the reason we do not sort here.
We do not have space to sort and store thirteen different kinds of materials until we have enough for a bale. We barely have enough space to manage everything now.
We began separating aluminum cans a few months ago. At $700.00/tonne we are trying to offset some of the lost revenue from cardboard.
One aluminum bale weighs between 150 and 200 kg. That is $105.00 to $140.00 per bale. Two bales are shipped on each load.
We also sell the office paper (called printers mix) for $65.00/ tonne. The sale of cardboard and these items almost covers the shipping.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. While sales are only 10% of our revenue, this is a significant change to the budget plan.
We have some important decisions to make.
I really wasn’t expecting the notice last week.
Effective August 1, the cost of sorting recyclables at the plant in Winnipeg will be increasing to $110.00 per metric ton (tonne).
It is currently $45.00 per tonne.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. China closing its markets didn’t affect us directly as none of our materials went there. But sale of recyclables is part of the market place that is affected by supply and demand. Prices have dropped significantly with the oversupply in North America.
Cardboard prices fell last fall from $90.00/tonne to $40.00.
As the company who sorts loses revenue from selling the recyclables, the cost of sorting must go up.
It seems obvious that we should crunch the numbers to see if it still pays to have our sorting done in Winnipeg. However, money is only part of the reason we do not sort here.
We do not have space to sort and store thirteen different kinds of materials until we have enough for a bale. We barely have enough space to manage everything now.
We began separating aluminum cans a few months ago. At $700.00/tonne we are trying to offset some of the lost revenue from cardboard.
One aluminum bale weighs between 150 and 200 kg. That is $105.00 to $140.00 per bale. Two bales are shipped on each load.
We also sell the office paper (called printers mix) for $65.00/ tonne. The sale of cardboard and these items almost covers the shipping.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. While sales are only 10% of our revenue, this is a significant change to the budget plan.
We have some important decisions to make.
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