Prices plummet for recycled materials

Fallout from the credit crisis is affecting scrap yards and recycling centers, where prices for copper, steel, aluminum, newspapers and cardboard have dropped dramatically. Recycled goods fetch, on average, about 75 percent less than they did in August - if buyers can be found. The situation is South Africa mirrors the American one - see this report.

"It's just further testimony of how interconnected everything is in the world economy," said John Frederick, director of Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, a trade organization based in Blair County with 625 members.

Particularly hard hit are large businesses that ship plastics and cardboard to Asia, where the materials are reconfigured into packaging materials for which demand falls when consumer sales slump.

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