LDPE (low-density polyethylene) film is one of the most widely generated plastic waste stream in North America by volume that has a functioning recycling pathway. It is also one of the most chronically under-recycled grades relative to its recovery potential.
LDPE film includes stretch film (the wrapping used on pallets across almost every warehouse and distribution operation), agricultural film, bubble wrap, silage film, and the shrink wrap used on packaged goods across food, beverage, and consumer products. According to the Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) and PLASTICS (formerly SPI), North America generates approximately 1.7 million tonnes of flexible film per year from commercial and industrial sources alone -not including post-consumer sources.
Of that 1.7 million tonnes, typically less than 10% currently enters a functional recycling pathway. The vast majority -stretch wrap, agricultural film, industrial bags -goes to landfill or is disposed of. Not because recycling technology doesn't exist (it does), but because the logistics of collection, sorting, and sale to processors creates friction that the informal broker market has never been able to fully resolve.
Why Film Is Harder Than Rigid Plastic
The challenge with LDPE film recycling is not the material itself -film can be recycled into new film, composite decking, refuse sacks, and a wide range of secondary applications. The challenge is the collection and market access layer.
Film is bulky before baling, lightweight relative to its volume, and contamination-sensitive -contaminated film (food, labels, other polymers) is a significantly lower-value grade. This means efficient film recycling requires both access to baling equipment and a reliable supply of clean or cleanable material. Industrial and commercial generators -warehouses, distribution centres, manufacturers -are ideal source points: they generate high volumes of clean, consistent stretch wrap and industrial film.
The problem is not at the supply end. It is at the market end: finding buyers for baled LDPE film at a price that justifies the logistics cost of baling and shipping. Film recycling markets in North America are thinner than rigid plastic markets, more geographically concentrated, and more volatile in pricing -making it harder for generators to rely on a stable price reference.
Current Market Pricing and Demand
Despite these challenges, baled LDPE film from industrial sources typically trade in the range of $80–180/ton in current North American secondary markets, depending on cleanliness, consistency, and volume. Post-industrial stretch film (warehouse and distribution operations) is at the higher end of this range due to its consistency and low contamination. Agricultural film -often containing soil and contamination -is at the lower end.
Demand drivers include film repressors who sell back into the film manufacturing chain, composite lumber and decking manufacturers (a major consumer of mixed plastic film including LDPE), and waste-to-energy operations that value the high calorific content of clean plastic film. International buyers -particularly in Southeast Asia and Mexico -provide additional market depth, particularly for clean, sorted grades.
The Flexible Film Recycling Group's Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) has made progress in increasing post-consumer film recycling rates at retail drop-off points. But the industrial and commercial film stream -the highest-volume, highest-value segment -remains primarily served by informal broker contacts and individual relationships that many smaller generators cannot access.
The Opportunity
For any warehouse, distribution centre, manufacturer, or food producer that is currently paying to dispose of stretch wrap and industrial film: the current market has buyers willing to pay $80–180/ton for exactly this material. The primary barrier is not demand. It is market access -specifically, the ability to connect efficiently with processors and buyers who are actively seeking supply.
DATA SOURCES:
? PLASTICS / FFRG -Flexible Film Recycling: https://www.plasticsindustry.org/recycling/flexible-plastics/
? Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP): https://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/
? US EPA -Plastics: Material-Specific Data: https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
? ISRI -Film Scrap Commodity Pricing Reference: https://www.isri.org/recycling-industry/commodity-pricing