A scrappy Metal Bill

When the Government suspended trade in scrap metal for six months to create a legal framework for the business, it was clear that there would be aspects of the new legislation that would not make scrap-metal dealers happy.

It isn't clear whether the new bill, which replaces the Old Metal and Marine (Stores) Act will ultimately please anyone.

In opening debate on the bill in the Senate, AG Reginald Amour urged senators to support the amendments made to the bill, which was passed in the Lower House on Wednesday.

Despite concerns raised by the Opposition and independent senators, the bill passed on Friday.

Some of these concerns are legitimate.

One provision of the bill prohibits scrap metal dealers from doing business out of a residential property.

This seems to ignore the nature of the business, which tends to be a hustle, dependent on the vagaries of access to available waste material.

Scrap-metal businesses tend to spring up near mechanics' shops, and city dumps to process readily available waste metal. A formal programme of relocation to suitable sites seems necessary.

Clear and enforceable guidelines for the handling of scrap metal and stringent standards for the organisation of yards will also deliver more tangible gains.

A suggestion by Independent Senator Anthony Vieira to create a local recycling industry touches on the value of improved, professional reprocessing of waste metal for export, though it remains unclear whether Trinidad and Tobago can profitably sustain metal recycling as an industry.

The bill also frets far too broadly about previous convictions as a limitation on collection.

Scrap-metal gathering and processing is not blue-collar work.

Undertaking scrap-metal recovery for recycling, a process generally ignored by the Government, tends to be done by workers on the lower end of the spectrum of education qualifications.

Blocking collectors with these hardline laws also denies convicts seeking honest work an opportunity for true rehabilitation.

These constraints are better applied to dealers who must be held to a higher standard in establishing the provenance of metal brought to them.

Stolen scrap metal is as much a responsibility of the yards accepting shadily sourced material as it is a failing of those gathering it.

Creating a system of scrap-metal acquisition that withstands institutional scrutiny is more important than closing off opportunities for poor people trying to earn a living.

The success of the bill in driving change in the scrap metal industry will depend entirely on how well the police service enforce it. As Independent Senator Paul Richards noted, "We have a poor enforcement record in TT."

A fairly policed scrap-metal industry is overdue, but moving from the barely controlled chaos of the recent past to a more accountable and sustainable business demands greater commitment to collaboration from all parties involved.

The criminal aspect must be managed more effectively by all involved.