EnMass Energy Commodity Market Update
Waste fuel rates and trends, plus Waste-to-Energy industry news.
Waste Market News
US > Wood Waste
- Rates: Decrease
- Supply: Increase
- Demand: Steady
- Notes: US residential construction increased rapidly after an initial downturn from Covid. Lumber prices have recovered from previous record highs in September. An uptick of wood waste available from construction sites and lumber mills is expected to cause a decrease in the costs of generating energy commodities from wood waste.
US > Plastic Waste
- Rates: Increase
- Supply: Increase
- Demand: Increase
- Notes: The primary (virgin) plastic market is currently under scrutiny for “greenwashing” the benefit and extent of plastics recycling for the past decades. Manufacturers and consumer product companies are embracing oversight and new fee structures, while increasing demand for higher quality secondary materials. Plastics-to-fuel companies are increasing demand as additional plants come online. Transportation costs remain high in the US, causing rates to continue to increase.
US > Food Waste
- Rates: Increase
- Supply: Increase
- Demand: Decrease
- Notes: Costs to both produce food at the farm level, and the cost of food for purchase by consumers increased over the past month. This includes general livestock and crop commodities, as well as fast moving consumer goods. Some pricing increase can be attributed to transport cost and carrier availability, as well as changes in demand due to consumer behavior still being affected by Covid.
US > Livestock Waste
- Rates: Increase
- Supply: Decrease
- Demand: Decrease
- Notes: Livestock waste demand is expected to decrease in the short term due to lower prices of alternatives for fertilizer. Supply continues to decrease due to changes in behavior on farms, and revised methods of clearing out and clearing facilities. Decreased availability of 3rd party transport of livestock waste is increasing the price along with less availability due to farms going longer periods of time between facility cleanings.
US > Crop and Harvest Waste
- Rates: Decrease
- Supply: Increase
- Demand: Decrease
- Notes: Continued depressed value of export commodities due to trade policies is keeping more harvests on-farm, increasing the amount of crop wastes available for energy purposes.
US > Tire Waste
- Rates: Steady
- Supply: Decrease
- Demand: No Change
- Notes: Supply of waste tires significantly outstrips demand for energy purposes, so rates remain steady and are expected to remain constant for the near future. Less frequent driving and shorter distances by most drivers is decreasing the availability of waste tires, but not to the point that it is expected to have an impact on project costs.
Finished Fuel Market News
US > Wood Biomass Fuels
- Rates: Decrease
- Supply: Increase
- Demand: Decrease
- Notes: Demand for processed woody biomass fuels decreased in the short term, while supply increased to compensate for slowdowns earlier this year. Rates have increased on average 9% month-over-month.
US > Liquid Biofuels
- Rates: Decrease
- Supply:Steady
- Demand: Decrease
- Notes: Liquid biofuels in the US move in tandem with petroleum prices. Steady supply and decreased demand for alternatives to traditional fossil fuels have depressed prices over the past 2 quarters.
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.
