recycling_bins_flickr_orphanjonesOf all the news I read this weekend, here’s what most surprised me:

The precipitous drop in prices for recyclables makes the stock market’s performance seem almost enviable.

On the West Coast, for example, mixed paper is selling for $20 to $25 a ton, down from $105 in October, according to Official Board Markets, a newsletter that tracks paper prices. And recyclers say tin is worth about $5 a ton, down from $327 earlier this year. There is greater domestic demand for glass, so its price has not fallen as much.

Those numbers boggle me. Why have prices for used commodities dropped more than for the virgin ones? Anyone know?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user orphanjones under a Creative Commons license.