Market Report

Fall out in, but not limited to, plastic recycling companies 
 

NL-Tilburg, September 28th 2025
 

As October approaches, it does indeed appear that little will change in terms of prices in the recovered paper market. There have been a few reports of local buyers potentially wanting to lower prices, but these mainly concern middle or higher quality grades.

European buyers are not yet discussing price adjustments for lower (packaging) grades. Supply appears to remain good, at least in balance with demand, and export prices are still above local prices, so there is not much room to lower prices on the local market. On the export markets, Turkey is leading the way, with particularly strong prices on the British market. India is a close second. Attempts are being made there to lower prices somewhat, but in general these remain tentative and, even if successful, the reduction is only a few dollars. This reduction is currently also reflected in container rates which, although already at a low level, are apparently still under pressure. With fewer sailings, the supply of containers remains ample, although sometimes shipments have to be delayed because the necessary containers are not available, which is often the result of disruptions in the supply and removal of containers in the main ports, where inland vessels are increasingly being used, which are more sustainable but also take longer. And in road transport, a single container may occasionally be delayed, whereas with barges, it is often a considerable number of containers. But as mentioned, all in all, this is a surmountable problem, and any inconvenience is still offset by the current attractive shipping rates.
So, there is little movement to be seen in the lower grades.

Things are not going so well for the medium grades, and we are looking in particular at the English market, where works of machine upgrading at Essity continues, which has a direct impact on local English recovered paper prices and therefore also on those on the continent, now that more and more is being offered from the U.K. Add to this the reduced appetite for middle grades among Asian buyers, and we have an explanation for the pressure on prices. Whether this will translate into lower prices in October remains to be seen. Stocks in the paper industry are high and, with shutdowns, less recovered paper is needed. If little or nothing is being bought, there is no point in talking about price reductions. This only weakens the position of sales prices for new (finished) paper. However, situations vary from one paper mill to another, so we will have to wait and see what happens in October.

The bad news this week came from the packaging sector. Where Mondi celebrated the start-up of its 420.000 tpa recycled liner board machine in Duino, Italy, the French mill Wizpaper, Wizernes, France, came with a press release announcing that “redressement judiciaire” had been requested, a sort of suspension of payments. This is bad news both for suppliers of recovered paper, who, unless insured, are likely to lose their money, and for the packaging paper industry, which, in addition to closing unprofitable capacities, would also benefit from other ways of reducing capacity in this market with significant overcapacity. Redressement judiciaire is often followed by bankruptcy, but the press release clearly hinted at the continuation of production.  It was quite shocking to read about the need to save affiliated companies and the jobs of 155 employees, and especially how it had all gone wrong due to external

factors: a challenging market, high energy prices, and so on. Not a word was said about the possible interests of affected suppliers. 

The search for external factors affecting companies in difficulty is also familiar in the plastic recycling sector. This week, it was announced that Lolaar in Helmond(NL) is closing its doors. This is somewhat more elegant than a suspension of payments, but no less dramatic for suppliers and staff, among others. Following reports of cheaper imports of virgin plastic in particular, strong competition from low-wage countries in Eastern Europe and the much lower energy prices there compared to the Netherlands were also mentioned. In addition, the fire insurance company demanded a sprinkler system. All in all, enough to give up.

In the Flemish Parliament, MP Katrijn van Riet, indeed the formerly buyer at StoraEnso Langerbrugge, Belgium, raised the issue of EU regulations on recycling and the high energy costs in Europe, which have already caused several companies involved in chemical plastic recycling projects to decide to pull out. In the port of Rotterdam, but also in Antwerp. In response to her questions, Prime Minister De Wever stated in no uncertain terms that he recognised the situation and would do everything in his power to keep the industry in the “Low Countries”. He was hopeful, he said, knowing that he was supported by “a different wind blowing through Europe”.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katrijn-van-riet-6b14538_nva-europe-climate-activity-7374843166707056640-B3qD?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAAZ0mtgB-u1PtCOXb14FHrVfbgMVsVtFH8M&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=whatsapp

Wizpaper

Price indication

Price indication in Europe for low grades of recovered paper, sorted, baled and ex works are now between € 60 and € 80 per tonne. These prices are depending on quality, available volume, region and loaded weight.

Look here at the Price chart >> 
  
The price chart gives an indication of the price  of mixed paper, separately collected, in the Netherlands free delivered mill over the last 10 years.
Scrolling over the top of the columns gives the exact price indication in Euro's per ton.