I had never sceen the scrap metal dumped as mountains on roadsides
No one has ever expected that scrap metal will dumped on road side and will be left unattended. Yes it’s a great coma for scrap traders. Two days back I had a chat with our local scrap dealer. It was a great surprise for me to hear the scrap metal price. This is due to economic downturn now the market for old metal, plastic and paper has hit rock bottom. For example the price of plastic has fallen from £200 per ton to virtually nothing. Couple of months back I have heard more about scrap metal theft. But nowadays the things have been changed a lot. No one wants the scrap though it appears as mountains on the roadside.
Now the only way is storing recycled materials as mountains and bundles of plastic bottles, aluminum cans and paper in the local ware house until the market recovers. Moreover England and Wales who where in charge of safe disposal of waste has removed the guidelines to facilitate the storage of recycled materials.
According to a scrap trader, "We expect that there may be increased storage of some materials in the short term and the Environment Agency is issuing helpful guidance on its approach. In making decisions, local authorities and their contactors will want to ensure that they have a home for materials that is being stored in the short term, that the storage won't compromise the environment and doesn't lead to deterioration in the quality of the materials that will further reduce their recyclability or value."
However Peter Ainsworth, Tory an environment spokesman, said “It would be a savage irony if, after all Defra's huffing and puffing over recycling, and the heavy-handed threats of penalties, we all ended up with higher council tax bills while mountains of recyclable waste accumulate in warehouses”
As per my prediction keeping the current scrap market in mind, it will take more than 1 yr for the scrap industry to recover and reflect the lucrative price of steel or scrap.