September 07, 2008

New Zealand scrap metal industry under threat

New Zealand Herald reported that New Zealand's billion dollar scrap metal industry will lose out if Green MP Nandor Tanczos' Waste Minimisation Bill goes ahead. The bill, which is due for its second reading on May 21, calls for a levy on every metric ton of waste sent for disposal. It is intended to deter wasteful behavior and to provide funding for new waste minimization initiatives.

But Mr Trevor Munro president of the Scrap Metal Recycling Association said that increased costs for dumping waste will fall back on those who have always recycled it for profit. He said that "While there will inevitably be an increase in post consumer scrap for our industry, this will be counteracted with the increase of waste that must be disposed of and due to the increase in costs for this, and the effect will be detrimental to our industry."

He said that the bill would see scrap metal dealers in New Zealand become less competitive than their foreign counterparts. He added that "New Zealand already has the highest landfill costs in Australasia without the waste levies and unfortunately in order to recycle metals we must handle non recyclable wastes."

Mr Munro said that the new collection and recycling methods have also raised the amount of scrap received. But there has been a decline in post industrial scrap due to the closure of large manufacturing plants such as Fisher & Paykel.

Scrap metal is the 17th largest export earner for New Zealand. Around 500,000 tonnes of ferrous and 50,000 tonnes of non ferrous scrap metal is generated each year.