Recycled commodity price per ton measures the average price realized on recyclable materials sold during a period under the company's reporting definition.
Common materials include cardboard, mixed paper, metals, plastics, and other recovered commodities.
Commodity price can move recycling revenue without changing volume
Republic Services reported an average recycled commodity price of $136 per ton sold at its recycling centers in the second quarter of 2026.
In the first quarter, the corresponding average was $120 per ton.
That change can affect recycling revenue and margins even if the physical tons processed are unchanged.
Recycling commodity price is not service pricing
Collection customers may pay service fees while recovered materials are later sold into commodity markets.
Those are different revenue drivers.
A higher Waste Core Price reflects customer pricing actions. A higher recycled commodity price reflects the market value of material sold.
Combining the two can obscure the source of revenue growth.
Material mix matters
The reported average can change because the company sells a different mix of paper, cardboard, plastics, metals, and other commodities.
Two quarters with identical market prices for each commodity can still produce different average price per ton if the material mix changes.
Quality, contamination, regional markets, contract terms, and processing arrangements can matter too.
Companies can reduce commodity sensitivity
Waste Connections describes charging collection and processing fees for third-party recycling volumes where possible to reduce exposure to recycled-material commodity prices.
That means a lower commodity price does not always translate dollar for dollar into lower segment economics.
The business model, fee structure, processing cost, and revenue-sharing terms all matter.
Commodity changes should be separated from organic waste growth
Waste companies often isolate recycled-commodity effects when explaining organic revenue.
This prevents a swing in recovered-material prices from being mistaken for stronger or weaker collection demand.
Investors should keep commodity price, processing volume, service pricing, and disposal volume as separate analytical drivers.
Primary-source examples
- Republic Services second-quarter 2026 results
- Republic Services first-quarter 2026 results
- Waste Connections 2025 Form 10-K
Recycled commodity price per ton is most useful as the commodity-value leg of recycling economics, separate from collection pricing and physical processing volume.
Part of the Waste & Environmental Services Operating Model
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