Everything going up

Oil hit an 18 month high this week, and the oligopoly of three iron ore suppliers pushed through a 90 per cent price rise last week which will see prices of steel increasing by more than 20 percent this year. Scrap iron rose from £100 to £120 per tonne in March. Landfill tax rose to £48 per tonne due to the budget's £8 per tonne annual escalator, with inert sticking at £2.50 per tonne. WRAP's budget is increasing from £81m to £91m as it takes over sole responsibility for delivering Defra's resource efficiency programme absorbing CRWP, BREW, Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse, Envirowise, NISP, and seven Scottish bodies, and promoting energy from waste as a priority. Copper wire cable rose by £100 per tonne to £1,500, and mixed brass rose from £2,700 to £2,800 per tonne.