News

The Packaging Recovery Note market boomed in April, with trading organisation The Environment Exchange recording the highest figures in its history.

The firm’s trading topped 100,000 tonnes, compared with only 37,000 tonnes in March, as major players became more comfortable with the electronic PRN system introduced this year.

Angus Macpherson, managing director of The Environment Exchange, said prices in most PRN categories also rose.

However, high plastics prices caused by strong demand and relatively weak supply led to a drop in the number of plastics PRNs traded from 2,822 in March to 2,099 in April.

April’s tonnage in glass doubled to 10,432 tonnes, driven by healthy demand. The average traded price also increased by £2.47 per tonne.

Three times the amount of paper was traded in April compared with March, although the average price remained roughly the same.

Meanwhile, Macpherson said the main challenge facing aluminium firms up until April was the small value of PRNs compared with aluminium, and therefore the low incentive to bring PRNs to the market.