Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·30 Sept 2026·5 min·E-Waste, Nickel
Battery recycling had a tough month on prices. Lithium carbonate futures in China fell about 25% in September, and payables for black mass, the powder recovered from old batteries, slipped week after week. Meanwhile official data shows how much value India's e-waste still loses. Here is the month in numbers, and where the opportunity sits.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·30 Sept 2026·4 min·PET, HDPE, LDPE, PVC, PP
Indian polymer makers revised prices on at least seven separate days in September, and Reliance and OPaL announced another increase for 1 October. At the same time, a film maker cut packaging film prices twice. Oil touched $104 before easing to about $99. Here is what the month's numbers say for converters, recyclers and collectors.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·30 Sept 2026·5 min·Ferrous, Stainless Steel, Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Nickel
Copper finished September almost exactly where it began, after a swing of more than $750 a tonne along the way. Zinc and copper stocks in London warehouses rose sharply, lead stocks fell, and India imported nearly 30% more finished steel in the first five months of the financial year. Here is the month in numbers, and what they say about October.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·30 Sept 2026·11 min·PET, HDPE, PP, Ferrous, Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Zinc, E-Waste, Glass
September changed the ground rules for India's scrap and recycling trade, from Brussels and Beijing to New Delhi and Punjab. Europe drew a line on metal scrap, India tightened its own import checks, oil above $100 made new plastic dearer, and a fixed biogas price gave straw a ten-year market. Here are the ten changes that matter most, ranked, with what each means and who it affects.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·29 Sept 2026·7 min·Ferrous, Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Zinc
A draft EU list published on 18 September 2026 leaves India out of the countries allowed to receive European metal scrap after 21 May 2027. On 24 September, the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) asked the Commerce Ministry to step in. The list is not final: comments close on 16 October and the first list is due by 21 November 2026. The outcome depends largely on whether the Commission accepts that Indian recyclers handle metal scrap safely.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·27 Sept 2026·8 min·PET, HDPE, PP
Reliance and IVL Dhunseri raised virgin PET prices by ₹2 a kg from 24 September 2026, with Brent crude above $100 a barrel. It lands at the halfway mark of the first year in which rigid plastic packaging must carry 40% recycled content. In May 2026, recyclers said a fifth or more of their food-grade capacity was idle, while an industry body representing beverage makers says supply falls short. Dearer virgin resin weakens the cost case for waiting and gives more bargaining power to whoever holds clean PET bottles.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·25 Sept 2026·3 min·Rubber, Tyre
MoEFCC grants major relief to producers and recyclers, pushing the deadline for FY2025-26 returns to September 30, 2026, amid portal glitches.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·24 Sept 2026·8 min·Biogas & CBG, Biomass & Crop Residue
Punjab expects 18.81 million tonnes of paddy straw this harvest. Over the past eight weeks the Centre has put a ₹23,731 crore guaranteed-price scheme behind biogas, coal plants are being fined for burning too little biomass, and brick kilns face a 30% straw-fuel rule from 1 November. Straw has stopped being a waste problem. It is becoming a traded commodity, and the money will go to whoever can collect, store and deliver it.
Editor’s PickIndustry Trends·23 Sept 2026·12 min·Ferrous, Non-Ferrous, Aluminium
This week, Eicher-maker VECV signed a deal to route old trucks into registered scrapping centres. Behind it are a government scheme to replace more than 2 lakh old trucks and buses, and an auto industry that missed its legal scrapping target by 70%. For the first time, subsidy money and compliance demand are pointing at the same scrapyard gate.
Editor’s PickGovernment·22 Sept 2026·3 min·Battery
The state is creating rules for large-scale battery storage. Smart dealers should see this as a sign of a major new scrap source on the horizon.
