Scrap Metal Law: Hefty Penalties Await Those in Breach

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Hefty penalties await scrap iron collectors and dealers who operate in breach of the proposed Scrap Metal law, which was piloted by the Attorney General in the House of Representatives yesterday.

The Attorney General said the bill represented the culmination of more than ten years of study at the attempts at regulation of this important industry. He said the bill seeks to modernise the law governing the scrap metal industry by repealing the old Metal and Marine Stores Act and introducing new measures to regulate the scrap metals business, including the establishment of a licensing regime. A Scrap Metal licence under the bill cannot be issued in relation to a dwelling house, he added.

He said the bill gives the minister the power to refuse, renew, revoke, vary or suspend the two types of licences- a Scrap Metal Collectors’ licence and a Scrap Metal Dealer’s licence, to appoint scrap metal inspectors, to establish registers of licences granted and to exercise a regulatory making power.

There is provision for appealing the decision of the minister. A condition of the granting of a licence requires the applicant to consent to entry by authorised officers on his scrap metal site during working hours to allow them to perform their duties, such as inspection of the site and records stored there and to ensure compliance with the Act. Armour said this provision meant that the bill did not require “anything but a simple majority vote”.

He said the bill also determines how, with whom and when a licensee may conduct business, such as no business with someone under the age of 18, or outside of certain hours. He said the legislation, which is still a work in progress, also creates numerous offences which come with administrative fines or hefty penalties at the summary or indictable levels.

 Courtesy: www.trinidadexpress.com