The price the firm can sell recycled material to packaging producers is falling fast, as there is now less demand from producers and more competition from factories making cheap virgin plastic.
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00:00Bristol Waste has forecast a loss of around £800,000 this year as China has flooded the
00:07market with cheap plastic. Bristol Waste, a council-owned rubbish company, is struggling
00:14to balance the books. A major challenge facing the firm, which collects the bins of thousands
00:21of homes in Bristol, says that plummeting price of recycled materials like plastic is
00:28impacting them. The price the firm can sell recycled material to packaging producers is
00:33falling fast as there is now less demand from producers and more competition from factories
00:40making cheap, virgin plastic. Adding to cost pressures at Bristol Waste are wider challenges
00:46like rising costs and wages. Meanwhile, a fifth of households in Bristol have been affected
00:53by unacceptable levels of missed bin collections, with streets across the city regularly waiting
01:00days to have their recycling picked up late, according to Bristol Waste's shareholder business
01:06plan. The business plan will be considered by councillors on the Strategy and Resourcing
01:14Policy Committee on Monday, March 17th. Satisfaction with the recycling service also dropped from
01:2174% in 2022 to 62% last year, according to council quality of service. The business plan
01:30said that there are external and internal challenges facing the business, such as declining
01:36recycling revenue rates driven by the external market and slower commercial growth, which
01:43they are having to manage carefully.