Metro scrap collectors bracing for hard times

Scrap collectors are bracing for hard times

Metro Manila’s cart-pushing scrap steel collectors are bracing for hard times. It is hard enough to push carts. But it is has become even harder to find scrap steel to collect, complained the leader of the largest organization of scrap steel collectors.

Jose Teves, president of the Metro Manila Federation of Environmental Multi-Purpose Cooperatives, said a severe shortage of scrap steel has emerged owing to the aggressive buying by a few big traders in recent months.

"These traders are cornering supplies for export to Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and other Asian countries. We are being elbowed out of our livelihood," Teves said.

Scrap steel collection is a major source of livelihood in Metro Manila, particularly in the depressed areas. This livelihood has untold stories of how these cart-pushers have sent tens of thousands of students to school as they eked out a decent living from such a humbling trade. But lately, they have been having serious difficulty living on scrap or the little of what’s left of it.

Linis Ganda, another huge organization of scrap collectors from over 570 junkyards, is urging government to regulate if not ban the export of scrap steel. "It is not only hurting the livelihood of our members but also the viability of domestic industries such as the machine shops and foundries on which hundreds of thousands more depend on for their livelihood," Teves said.

Linis Ganda was founded 19 years ago and is one of the most successful cooperatives, which directly benefits the poorest of the poor. Linis Ganda now has nearly 600 junkyards and about a hundred vehicles for waste collection and continues to provide livelihood to thousands of small scrap collectors.

Teves said the big traders preying on scrap steel supplies include Continental Metal, L. Aquario Marketing, Cebu Metal Corp., Cycle Metal Corp. and Alloy Marketing. They have organized themselves into a group called Scrap Collectors and Recyclers Association of the Philippines (SCRAP).