Progress Against Recycling Targets: July PRN Data

As we move into the latter half of the year, recycling production across various material grades has shown a mix of strong performances and some challenges. While certain materials like Wood have exceeded expectations, others have seen slight shortfalls that warrant attention. This overview examines the current state of production, reflecting both the successes and the areas where progress needs to be closely monitored to ensure targets are met by year-end. 

Paper and board production underperformed by 60,000 tonnes in July compared to the monthly requirement (272,630t), marking its weakest monthly performance of the year so far. While this is worth monitoring in the coming months, this figure may not represent the full picture due to missing data from larger recyclers. Despite this shortfall in July, the overall outlook remains positive as the Paper and Board grade is still on track to meet its recycling targets by October, indicating that the recent dip could be a temporary issue. 

Aluminium production has been stable, maintaining levels consistent with previous reports but slightly below the monthly targets required (-397t). Despite this minor lag, Aluminium production is nearly identical to last year, demonstrating solid operational consistency and suggesting that the grade is on a steady path towards meeting its annual goals. 

Steel production weakened in July (20,535t) after its strongest performance in June (46,795t); however, it is still 16,000t ahead of year-to-date net requirements. This overall surplus keeps Steel on a solid trajectory towards achieving its targets, even though the recent performance dip should be monitored to ensure ongoing progress. 

Glass Remelt production fell slightly behind target, potentially due to the warm summer months affecting output. However, the shortfall isn’t seen as a major concern, and it is expected that production will rebound as more data is collected post-summer, keeping the grade on track to meet its yearly goals. 

Glass Other is running slightly behind the monthly requirement but remains on course overall. The consistent production suggests no immediate threats to achieving annual targets, and the slight shortfall is expected to be managed effectively as the year progresses. 

Plastic production in July (83,171t) did not meet the ongoing monthly targets (91,701t) but is outperforming last year’s levels, showing a significant year-on-year improvement in production efficiency (+22,184t vs 2023 July YTD production). Although the shortfall in July hints at possible challenges ahead, the overall trend remains positive, with continued monitoring needed to maintain this progress. 

It seemed inevitable that Wood would be the first grade to reach its production target, and it has now achieved this milestone five months ahead of schedule. With its strongest production month of the year so far (68,769 tonnes), Wood has met the net requirement of 338,741 tonnes by producing a total of 343,789 tonnes of PRNs to date. As other materials continue to work towards their targets, ongoing Wood production will support the General Obligation, contributing to broader recycling success.