The final trading week of the second full week of January 2026, concluding on Friday, January 16th, revealed a dynamic and somewhat volatile landscape across the UK’s Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) market, as monitored by The Environment Exchange (t2e). This weekly barometer of compliance costs offers crucial intelligence for businesses obligated under the UK Packaging Waste Regulations to meet their annual recycling targets. A comprehensive review of the average trading prices, benchmarked against the preceding week, the final trading session of December 2025, and the corresponding week in January 2025, highlights significant shifts, particularly in plastics and metals, while other material streams remained largely stable.
Plastics Lead Volatility with a Notable Decline
The most striking movement observed this week was within the highly scrutinized Plastic material category. The average trading price dropped substantially to £206.61 per tonne on January 16th, marking a significant decrease from the £248.60 recorded just one week prior (January 9th). This represents a fall of over £42, underscoring a potential easing of pressure that has characterized the plastics market in recent months.
When comparing this figure to the pre-holiday close of 2025 (December 19th), where the price stood at £227.80, the downward trend appears consolidated. Furthermore, the year-on-year comparison reveals just how dramatically prices have inflated since early 2025. The price on January 17th, 2025, was a mere £67.04. The current price, despite the recent drop, remains more than triple the cost observed twelve months prior, indicating that while short-term pressure may have abated, the long-term compliance cost environment for plastics remains considerably elevated compared to the previous compliance year. Industry analysts suggest this recent dip could be attributed to a surge in material recovery efforts post-New Year, potentially satisfying immediate demand from obligated producers who sought to secure volumes ahead of the traditional Q1 reporting push.
Aluminium Experiences a Sharp Retracement
The Aluminium PRN market also witnessed a notable downward correction this week. The price settled at £5.50 per tonne by January 16th, down from £6.10 the previous week. While this represents a moderate decrease, it follows a sharp spike seen just before the Christmas break, where aluminium hit £11.53 on December 19th, 2025. This suggests that the high price observed late last year was likely a temporary market anomaly or a result of panicked buying, which has now been corrected. Compared to the £6.00 level seen a year ago (January 17th, 2025), the current price is relatively stable, indicating a mature and generally well-supplied market segment.
Glass Markets Remain High and Stable
The Glass categories continued to trade at premium levels, reflecting the persistent logistical and processing challenges associated with high-quality cullet recovery.
Glass Remelt prices remained exceptionally high, closing at £109.73 on January 16th. This is only a slight dip from £110.00 the week before, and remains significantly higher than the £61.58 recorded in January 2025. The stability around the £110 mark suggests that producers are finding consistent, albeit expensive, sources of compliant remelt material to cover their obligations.
Similarly, Glass Other maintained an almost flat trajectory, trading at £100.00 compared to £100.02 the week prior. This consistency contrasts sharply with the price one year ago, which stood at just £45.13. The near doubling of the ‘Other’ glass price over the year highlights the increasing cost burden associated with recovering materials that do not meet the stringent quality requirements for remelt streams. The price peaked slightly before Christmas at £100.27, confirming sustained high-cost compliance for this category.
Paper and Steel Show Enduring Stability
The high-volume, low-cost categories of Paper and Steel demonstrated remarkable price stability heading into the middle of January.
Paper PRNs held firm at £0.15 per tonne for the third consecutive week, having been consistent since the December 19th reading of £0.15. This stability is a significant shift from the previous year, where prices were nearly four times higher at £0.49 in mid-January 2025. This suggests that the recycling infrastructure for paper packaging is robustly meeting demand, potentially benefiting from high collection rates following the festive season.
Steel PRNs also remained static at £0.50 per tonne, matching the previous week’s closing and the December 19th figure. However, this masks a substantial deflation compared to the £3.00 price recorded in January 2025. Like paper, the steel sector appears to have successfully streamlined its compliance process, leading to significantly lower recovery costs for obligated parties.
Wood Prices Edge Upward
The Wood recycling market saw a minor, yet consistent, upward trend. The price increased marginally from £4.99 to £5.06 this week. This continues the slow climb observed since December 2025 (£4.95). Compared to the remarkably low figure of £1.35 twelve months prior, the wood market has seen a near quadrupling of compliance costs, indicating that securing certified wood recovery capacity is becoming incrementally more challenging as the year progresses.
Market Context and Outlook
The data presented for the week ending January 16, 2026, suggests a market undergoing stabilization following the typical Q4 procurement rush and the immediate post-holiday influx of material. The sharp drop in plastic prices is the headline event, offering temporary relief to many producers, though the underlying inflationary pressure over the last 12 months remains the dominant narrative.
Obligated businesses must remain vigilant. While current stability in Paper and Steel is positive, the high and hardening costs for Glass and the ongoing significant premium for Plastic—even after this week’s dip—confirm that compliance costs remain a major operational consideration for 2026. The Environment Exchange (t2e) continues to serve as the essential platform providing real-time transparency into these fluctuating compliance obligations. For detailed transaction data and forward-looking analysis, interested parties are directed to the t2e website at www.t2e.co.uk.