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Skid in oil prices pulls recycling down

    IMG_0961(New York Times, February 12, 2016) — In a cavernous recycling facility crisscrossed with conveyor belts, enormous bales of crumpled plastic bottles are stacked one atop another, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder.

    For Waste Management, the company that runs this operation, collecting, sorting and bundling recyclables was until recently a profitable endeavor. A year ago, Waste Management could have fetched $230 for each bale of thin translucent plastic.

    But today, thanks to the glut of cheap oil flooding global markets, they are worth just $112 each. Read more>>>