Chinese recycling market crash hits local firm
by Ailbhe Gillespie
One of Longford’s longest established waste management companies, Mulleady’s Recycling, has had to take radical steps this week to say its company due to a crash in the recycling market in China.
“For years we’ve accepted dry recyclables to our two civic amenities in Cloonaugh in Drumlish and Longford free of charge and after we sorted these products we would get a value for them on the Chinese market but last week we we’re shocked to hear that the recycling market there has totally collapsed and we can no longer sell these materials,” Anthony Mulleady, Managing Director of the Mulleady Group explained.
Mulleady’s must now acquire new storage space to house all these dry recyclable materials and will also have to shell out massive amounts of money on insurance.
“I don’t know if we’ll even be able to get insurance, but we will try our best and I know if we do get it the premium will be extremely high,” said Mr Mulleady. Due to storage and insurance costs, Mulleady’s Recycling has been forced to begin charging their patrons for recycling goods.
“We have had to put a charge on all dry recyclables at our two facilities this week to try and survive the recycling market collapse. This was after we attended a meeting in Portlaoise where all the Waste management contractors got together to discuss the crisis,” commented Mr Mulleady.
Clients visiting either of Mulleady’s recycling centres, in Drumlish or Longford, will now have to pay a minimum price of p2 for recyclables weighing under 20kg. For larger quantities of dry materials, a commercial price of 10 cent per kg has been set up, this is VAT inclusive.
“This has been a terrible blow to the company. We were most shocked at how quickly the recycling market collapsed, within three days last week we found out that we no longer had anywhere to sell these materials. We have 15 to 20 people employed in this sector and we are doing everything we can to keep their jobs, hence the new charges,” Mr Mulleady explained.
The company also offers a home waste collection service in Co Longford and Anthony Mulleady feels that this too will have to change in the near future to accommodate for the crisis in the recycling market around the globe. “We have to collect the blue recycling bins every day and we will do our best to continue this service although some kind of charge will have to be put in place, something like a weight estimation fee.”
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Weather for Longford, Ireland
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: North west
