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Waste-to-Energy Market Update: December 2020

EnMass Energy Commodity Market Update

Waste Market News

 

US > Wood Waste

  • Rates: Steady
  • Supply: Steady
  • Demand: Decrease
  • Notes: Wood waste prices were steady through the last month, with only a small dip in value of ~1%. Demand has decreased with the earlier supply glut from the summer months, but is expected to recover early next year as secondary demand for wood pellets for heating ramps up in the US and Canada.

US > Plastic Waste

  • Rates: Decrease
  • Supply: Increase
  • Demand: Decrease
  • Notes: Prices in the secondary recyclable plastics market diverged this month, with some plastics like HDPE increasing in value, while PP and PS decreased in value overall. In general, the average value of secondary plastics has continued a month over month decline into December.

US > Food Waste

  • Rates: Decrease
  • Supply: Increase
  • Demand: Decrease
  • Notes: Food waste availability from consumers is expected to be higher in December, much as it has been during the second half of 2020. Slowdowns at commercial restaurants and grocery stores has decreased the overall amount of food being wasted on site.

US > Livestock Waste

  • Rates: Decrease
  • Supply: Decrease
  • Demand: Decrease
  • Notes: Livestock waste prices continued lower alongside wider declines in fertilizer prices across the board through November. We expect this trend to continue into the new year, but with a quick positive turnaround in pricing into Q1 of 2021.

US > Crop and Harvest Waste

  • Rates: Increase
  • Supply: Decrease
  • Demand: Increase 
  • Notes: 2020 has been a great year for commodity crop growth, with many analysts revising end of year pricing anywhere from 5-10% higher than previous years. This higher pricing means limited pressure on farmers to monetize harvest wastes, and competing alternatives to mono-crops like corn and soybeans used for biofuels. Given the correlation between commodity crop prices and the value of harvest residues, this means a reduction in waste suppliers and an increase in rates due to competing demand.

US > Tire Waste

  • Rates: Increase
  • Supply: Decrease
  • Demand: No Change
  • Notes: Available waste tires have seen an annual 5% decrease due to the pandemic and reduced road traffic. This is in direct contrast to the 7% increase in waste tire supplies in 2019 from previous year levels.

 

Finished Fuel Market News

 

US > Wood Biomass Fuels

  • Rates: Increase
  • Supply: Decrease
  • Demand: Increase
  • Notes: Demand for processed wood fuels is having an effect on pricing as parts of the US and Canada hit colder months and start to depend more on wood-burning stoves.

US > Liquid Biofuels

  • Rates: Decrease
  • Supply: Steady
  • Demand: Decrease
  • Notes: Depressed oil and gas products continue to have an effect on biofuel alternatives, driven by low demand in the market for transportation fuels.

As a tech-enabled brokerage of waste commodities used in renewable energy and advanced recycling projects, EnMass provides sourcing and supply chain services within fast-growing Waste-to-Energy (WtE) industry.

EnMass Energy uses standard tools and approaches from commodities trading to assign values to waste streams that create value at energy projects. Additionally, we connect every link in the Waste-to-Energy project process through our supply chain management platform that optimizes collection, transportation, delivery schedules and financing of WtE projects. Learn more about us.

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