Falling prices for used aluminium cans threaten to put more pressure on government landfill waste tips.
Rubbish collectors, who rummage through the territory's bins for cans, have already seen prices tumble by 50 per cent in 18 months.
Back-street recycling centre bosses report that aluminium cans are becoming less profitable.
Rubbish collectors receive more money for paper and cardboard as a result of stronger prices on the world markets.
Surveys show about 90 per cent of the 60 million cans thrown away each month are collected and sold abroad, mainly to China and Taiwan, for recycling.
A huge volume of paper and card is also baled and sold for export.
If all this waste was not sold, it would increase the volume of rubbish dumped in landfills by 35 per cent, according to the Environmental Protection Department.
