Glass reprocessors will begin charging gate fees as high as £10/tonne in some cases to counteract the diminished packaging recovery note (PRN) value. Industry insiders said that because glass PRNs are currently being traded at around £2.50/tonne, reprocessors will begin charging gate fees for lower glass grades - mixed and green. PRNs were often used to supplement income for reprocessors. Glass recycler Recresco told MRW it will vary the gate fee according to the quality of the material. Director Tim Gent said: "We will be charging a gate fee up to double figures for poor-quality mixed in December. The gate fee will vary and be dependent on quality. This is not going to be a short-term thing, we are not going to see prices returning to the high levels where they were at the start of the year, above £20/tonne. It will cause problems for waste companies that have taken on the risk of fixing the material price in local authority contracts." British Glass recycling manager Rebecca Cocking explained that gate fees for glass have not been seen since 2002. Since September, glass PRN prices have fallen quite rapidly, pushing the price of glass down with them as more material was recycled. The UK hit its packaging recycling target and demand for the material for reprocessors to hit their PRN obligations decreased. The PRN price initially dropped to £14/tonne, then down to £10-12/tonne by end-Sept. Now they are trading around £2.50 through the Environment Exchange website. Fling and amber, the higher quality glass, has a higher value but these prices are expected to fall in the new year. Defra recently revealed packaging recycling targets for the next 2 years, showing a rollover of targets. This will not lead to increased demand for glass and so will not push up the price of material any time soon.
