How Scrap Plastic Is Priced: Regrind, Bales, Purgings and Lumps

Manufacturers are often surprised by scrap plastic offers. Two loads of the same resin can get very different prices, or one gets an offer and the other is turned down. The reason is that buyers price the cost of turning your scrap into something they can sell, not the resin on paper.

1. Resin type

HDPE, LDPE, PP, PET, ABS, PC, nylon and other engineering resins each have their own markets. Clean engineering resins usually command more than commodity polyolefins, but they also need a buyer who can use that specific grade.

2. Form

• Regrind is ground and ready to reprocess, so it usually prices best.
• Bales of film or containers need sorting and washing first.
• Purgings and lumps need grinding and are harder to grade.
• Parts and rejects depend on size, inserts and how easily they grind.

3. Color

Natural and clear material can be colored into anything. Mixed colors can only become black or dark gray. Sorting by color before you sell usually pays.

4. Contamination

Labels, metal inserts, paper, dirt, mixed resins and moisture all cost the buyer money to remove. A small amount of the wrong resin can make a whole load unusable for some applications. Be upfront about it; surprises at the receiving dock end in deductions or rejections.

5. Volume and consistency

A full truckload is far easier to place than a few gaylords. A recurring monthly load from the same process is worth more to a buyer than a one-time cleanout, because they can plan around it.

6. Packaging and freight

Gaylords, supersacks and bales each load differently. Freight is often the deciding factor: material close to a buyer can fetch a better net price than better material far away.

What to send for a quote

• Resin type and grade, or the product the scrap came from
• Form and color
• Photos of the material and the packaging
• Estimated weight and how often you generate it
• Pickup location and dock details

Why some loads get no offer at all

Sometimes a load is turned down rather than priced low. The usual reasons are heavily mixed resins with no realistic way to separate them, contamination that cannot be removed economically, very small quantities far from any buyer, and material with unknown origin or possible hazardous residues. In many of those cases, the material can still be recycled at a cost rather than sold, which is usually better than landfill.

How to raise the value of your scrap

• Separate resins and colors at the source
• Grind parts and purgings if you have the equipment
• Keep material dry, covered and off the floor
• Consolidate until you have a full load
• Describe the material honestly, with photos

Selling once versus setting up a program

A one-time cleanout is priced on what it is. A recurring stream, the same resin and form every month, is worth more because buyers can plan production around it. If you generate scrap regularly, ask about a scheduled pickup program rather than calling each time the warehouse fills up.

Frequently asked questions

Do you buy small quantities?

Small quantities are best stored until there is enough for an efficient pickup.

Is regrind always worth more than parts?

Usually, but only if the grinder is cleaned between resins and colors.

Getting a faster, more accurate offer

The quickest offers come from complete information. Clear photos of the material and packaging, a close-up of the scrap itself, the resin and source, an honest note about contamination and a realistic weight estimate let a buyer price the load in one pass. Missing details usually mean questions, a delay and sometimes a conservative price to cover the unknowns.

We buy and broker scrap plastic and arrange pickup. See plastic recycling or send us your material details.