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<br />A rough spot for recycling <br /> <br /> <br />David Joles, Star Tribune <br /> <br />Picture Caption: Corrugated cardboard sits 3Dfeet high at Waste Management's <br />recyclingfacility in northeast Minneapolis, waitingfor prices to rise. <br /> <br />Prices for paper, metals and plastic have plummeted, forcing recycling firms to <br />make adjustments to weather the market. <br /> <br />By <br /> <br /> <br />Star Tribune <br /> <br />Last update: December 13, 2008 - 9:44 PM <br /> <br />Aisles where forklifts once shuttled are packed tight with baled cardboard and paper. A <br />mountain of cardboard 30 feet high sits in the middle of a concrete tipping floor. Mike <br />Lunow, manager of Waste Management's recycling plant in northeast Minneapolis, is <br />running out of storage space. <br /> <br />He has stockpiled 1,400 bales of paper -- all that he can handle without creating safety or <br />fire hazards -- and has shipped more to a warehouse. <br /> <br />The scene is typical across the country, where the market has plunged for wastepaper, <br />aluminum, plastic and other products, leaving them worth only a small fraction of what <br />they sold for just two months ago. <br /> <br />"This is a big dramatic downturn," said Susan Young, director of solid waste and <br />recycling services for the city of Minneapolis. "We all got used to China buying <br />everything they could get their hands on." <br />