High Demand (Cont’d from Page 1) same labor shortage as MRFs. Biggers is aware of several MRFs reporting their operations are tight.“I talked to a sup- plier recently, and it’s trying to figure out how to supply pa- per to the manufacturers; the MRFs can’t produce enough,” he says.“Part of that is because MRFs currently don’t have the employees to sort, separate, and get things ready for shipping.” It’s evident that recyclable materials are coming in from consumers through online purchases that typically travel in corrugated/carton or paper/plastic envelopes, and using paper products either at home or the office. In May, the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasted non-store and online sales to grow 18 percent to 23 percent for 2021, or $1.09 to $1.13 trillion. But for some reason it’s not reaching the next level.“The bottleneck may be at the MRFs,”Biggers noted. It’s possible that U.S. employment isn’t where it needs to be to continue the economy at its current growth. In June, the Federal Reserve Board raised its GDP projection for 2021 to 7.0 percent from 6.5 percent in March. However, its unemployment rate projection remained unchanged at 4.5 percent. “Would GDP be higher if employment would grow faster? A potential answer may lie in the Personal Con- sumption Expenditures (PCE) price index,” Biggers said.An indicator the Fed uses to set policy, PCE measures prices that people living in the United States, or those buying on their behalf, pay for goods and services. In May, the Federal Reserve Board increased their PCE estimate to 3.4 percent from 2.4 percent in their March estimate, which suggests demand is outpacing supply, Biggers said.“Hence, if supply were greater, inflation would decrease. If employment were up a faster rate, then supply would increase also, thereby adding a downward pressure on inflation.” Though unemployment was lower than projected, the good news is the number continues rising.“The number is going up; we’re not losing jobs, so it’s good overall,”Biggers said. SWANA Reports Decline In Fatal Incidents In 2021 The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), based in Silver Spring, Maryland, has reported a decrease in solid waste worker fatalities in the first half of 2021. Pre- liminary data collected by SWANA shows 50 percent fewer on-the-job deaths compared with the previous three years. The most common event leading to a worker’s death in 2021 is being struck by a waste vehicle or heavy equip- ment. Single-vehicle accidents that involve a waste collec- tion vehicle, which was the leading fatal event for workers in 2020, are down. Only one fatality this year was the result of a single-vehicle crash In addition to worker fatalities, SWANA also tracks events in which a member of the public is killed in a solid waste-re- lated incident.These fatal events for 2021 remain on average compared with previous years, with 43 deaths so far. Inci- dents of pedestrians being struck by collection vehicles are up significantly with 12 this year, compared with 13 in 2020.
Buyer’s Guide Bu BALERS (HORIZONTAL) MACPRESSE EUROPA (MP NORTH AMERICA) 20080 VERNATE MILANO ITALY (912) 402-7968 Email: Randy@MPnorthamerica.com Website: www.macpresse.com * RECYCLING EQUIPMENT CORPORATION * 831 W. 5th St. • Lansdale, PA 19446 (267) 218-7200 Website: www.RecyclingEquipment.com E-mail: sales@recyclingequipment.com SIERRA INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY 1620 E Brundage Ln • Bakersfield CA 93307 (800) 343-8503
Website: www.sierraintl.com E-mail: info@sierraintl.com
VAN DYK RECYCLING SOLUTIONS 78 Halloween Blvd. • Stamford, CT 06902 (203) 967-1100 • Fax: (203) 967-1199 Website: www.vdrs.com Email: info@vdrs.com
BALERS (VERTICAL)
B E EQUIPMENT, INC. 1775 Wentz Rd. • Quakertown, PA 18951 (215) 536-0700 • Fax: (215) 536-2999 Website: www.beequipment.com E-mail: sales@beequipment.com ELY ENTERPRISES 3809 Broadway • Lorain, OH 44052 (216) 252-8090 Fax: (216) 252-5607 Website: www.elyent.com E-mail: sales@elyent.com HARRIS 315 W. 12th Ave. • Cordele, GA 31015 (229) 273-2500
Website: www.harrisequip.com E-mail: info@harrisequip.com * RECYCLING EQUIPMENT CORPORATION * 831 W. 5th St. • Lansdale, PA 19446 (267) 218-7200 Website: www.RecyclingEquipment.com E-mail: sales@recyclingequipment.com SIERRA INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY 1620 E Brundage Ln • Bakersfield CA 93307 (800) 343-8503
Website: www.sierraintl.com E-mail: info@sierraintl.com
Recycling Markets July 5, 2021 7
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