Methodology

How visual bale assessments work

BaleScan Pro examines the photographs supplied and estimates the proportion of visible material types on the exposed bale faces. It reads what the camera can see: surface packaging formats, label and closure cues, colour, and obvious contamination.

Because only the outer layers of a bale are visible, the estimate assumes the interior is broadly consistent with the faces photographed. Bales that have been face-loaded, re-baled or wrapped will not follow that assumption.

Why results are indicative

Image quality, lighting, distance, angle and the number of faces photographed all change what the model can identify. Materials with similar appearance — PET thermoforms versus PET bottles, or natural HDPE versus translucent PP — are the most common sources of error.

Results are an indicative visual assessment, not a laboratory test. They should be validated by representative physical sampling, sorting and any contractual quality-control process before material is purchased or rejected.

How recovery efficiency is applied

Recovery efficiency is the share of an input material stream that survives sorting and washing as saleable product. It is entered by the user because it is plant-specific: the same bale yields differently on different lines.

Anything not recovered is treated as disposal tonnage and charged at the landfill rate, or at a material-specific disposal rate where one is entered.

How disposal and processing costs affect value

Processing, freight and other variable costs are applied per tonne of incoming bale, not per tonne recovered, because they are incurred on everything that arrives.

Disposal is applied to lost tonnage. This is why a small increase in contamination can move a bale from profitable to loss-making: it removes revenue and adds cost simultaneously.

How market prices are collected and dated

Every price record carries a material, grade, product form, region, currency, unit, low/high/average, effective date, direction of movement and source category.

We publish only figures we can date and attribute. Proprietary assessments from paid providers are not republished. Where no verified figure exists for a period, the page states that an update is pending rather than showing an estimate.

Historical series are trimmed to the latest genuinely observed reporting period. We do not publish forecasts inside historical charts.

Asking price, assessed price and transaction price

An asking price is what a seller advertises. An assessed price is a reference midpoint compiled from market feedback. A transaction price is what was actually paid, including specification, volume, payment terms and freight basis.

Prices shown on this site are indicative assessments or public reference figures. They may differ materially from the price you can achieve for a specific parcel.

Regional and currency limitations

Regional figures reflect different delivery bases (FOB, DDP, delivered, ex-works), different specifications and different contract or spot conventions. Comparisons across regions are indicative only.

Where a figure has been converted between currencies, the conversion date matters and is stated with the record.

Why physical sampling still matters

No photograph-based method replaces a representative sample. For any commercial decision of consequence — a supply agreement, a rejection, a claim — take physical samples across the load and test them against the contractual specification.