How much scrap does a scrappie recycle?

Councils should not be able to regulate commercial recycling collectors, the Scrap Metal Recycling Association says.

The Association protested yesterday at Parliament over the Waste Minimisation Bill, citing concerns that classifying scrap metal as waste would hinder exports.

Green Party MP Russel Norman has already lodged an amendment to Parliament to add a new definition of ‘diverted’ material into the bill so that not all trash will be called waste.

The new definition would also affect council powers under the Bill to regulate waste collectors and require them to provide information on what gets recycled and dumped.

Association president Trevor Munro said there was arguably no need to provide information on material that was already being recycled – the focus should be on material that was being dumped.

“It does not decrease waste disposal (and, in fact, it may increase the chance of the material being disposed of, should the regulation discourage existing commercial waste minimisation operators).”

Scrap metal recyclers reprocess at least 90 per cent of metal collected, with some industry organisations arguing it is as high as 98 per cent.

Mr Munro said the Association had offered to provide voluntary information to councils on its members’ waste minimisation activities, and another section of the bill enabled information to be gathered by the Ministry for the Environment.

However, Waitakere city council waste manager Jon Roscoe has said councils need full data to make their involvement meaningful.