Plastic Made With Used Shampoo Bottles Gets Price Assessment

(Bloomberg) -- S&P Global Platts, which offers pricing assessments for oil and gas, will begin valuing a widely used recycled plastic that’s made from consumer products including shampoo bottles and trash bags.

The daily spot assessments for recycled high-density polyethylene film pellets will offer a “more complete view” of the value chain for the recycling market in Southeast Asia, the pricing agency said in a statement Thursday. Platts started valuing recycled polyethylene terephthalate clear flakes in July.

“Increased transparency brought by this new spot price assessment will provide the industry with an independent view of market value,” Ben Brooks, head of Plastics Recycling Reporting at Platts, said in a statement. The service will help “market participants navigate the emerging commodity market and make informed trading decisions.”

With the pandemic undermining efforts to reduce plastic pollution across the globe, demand for greater transparency has grown in recycling markets amid rising concerns over the material’s long-term impact on ecological systems. Consumption of high-density polyethylene, known as HDPE, has risen as people seek greater protection against the spread of the coronavirus.

Read also: Pandemic Paralyzes Asian Plastic Recycling Industry, Report Says

The new assessment, which will be based on free-on-board from countries in Southeast Asia, will be in U.S. dollar per metric ton, with a minimum cargo size of 15 tons for loading between 15 and 30 days from the date of publication. The pricing will follow Platts’ Market-On-Close methodology.

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