Dive Brief:
- The volume of exported recyclable materials from the U.S. has decreased almost across the board.
- Scrap plastic dropped 6.3% from October 2014 to November 2014. However, the material experienced growth from the previous year: 4.43 billion pounds were exported through November 2014, up 15% from 2013.
- In 2014, ferrous scrap exports slid 15.7% lower than the same time period in 2013, while the export of aluminum scrap decreased by 7.8% from 2014 to 2013.
Dive Insight:
Recovered paper was the exception to the falling numbers, and came out on top, with a small, 0.9% gain from 2013 to 2014.
The reported figures end in November of 2014, and represent the most recent numbers available.