Scrap metal reclaimers battle to make ends meet

Mthokozisi Ngwenya, Lethabo Sibusiso and Sparky Shabalala are among hundreds of informal scrap metal reclaimers in Booysens, Johannesburg. Metal reclaimers supported by the Recycling Association of South Africa are calling for the suspension of the Price Preference System which has resulted in lower buying prices across the sector. Photos: Kimberly Mutandiro

• Scrap metal reclaimers say they are battling to make a living wage as prices have fallen.
• The Recycling Association of South Africa (RASA) blames industry trade policies and has called for the suspension of the Price Preference System under which metal scrapyards must offer scrap at a 30% discount to local steel mills.
• RASA proposes that the export duty on scrap should be dropped to allow free trade for the informal and formal metal recycling sector.

From as early as 6am, Nhlanhla Lucky Dladla leaves his home at Emandleni informal settlement on the outskirts of Benoni and walks five kilometres to the nearest dumpsite. He usually spends the next ten hours sorting through piles of discarded metal to recycle and sell.

Dladla and several other metal reclaimers told GroundUp they have been battling to make a decent living because the money they get from reselling has decreased in recent years.

The Recycling Association of South Africa (RASA) has called for the suspension of the Price Preference System (PPS), under which metal scrapyards must offer scrap at a 30% discount to local steel mills, and pay the freight to a domestic mill before they are permitted to export it.

The PPS was introduced in 2013 with the intention of ensuring that domestic steel producers had preferential access to locally generated scrap metal at competitive prices before scrap could be exported. However, this national trade policy has increasing been hitting the pockets of the lowest earners in the scrap recycling chain.

Nhlanhla Lucky Dladla sorts through small pieces of scrap at an old dumping area in Benoni.

Prices at the scrapyard Dladla visits range from R1.50 to R140 per kilogram depending on the metal.

He collects pieces of copper, brass, steel, and aluminium. Collecting a kilogram of metal is not easy, he said.

Dladla sells his recyclables in bulk at the end of each week. When in need of quick cash, he takes smaller amounts to sell at a nearby scrapyard for between R200 and R300.

Dladla said he has been struggling to find decent work since 2016. The little he makes helps support his elderly parents and his younger siblings still at school.

Sometimes he and other scrap metal collectors hire a bakkie to sell their scrap in town in the hope of getting a better price. But it is often difficult to make a profit.

Dladla complained of the low prices offered by scrapyards and accused metal buyers of making more profit at the expense of their hard work.

“Buyers exploit and rob us. We do too much work for too little money, while they make more profit. No one cares about us,” said Dladla.

Piles of copper collected by a reclaimer.

According to Geoff Borrajeiro, RASA chairperson, the association presented a sector assessment to Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade, industry and competition earlier this year, and sent written submissions in June and July. RASA also presented at the committee’s industrial development strategy colloquium in early August.

RASA estimated that the metals recycling sector handles about 2.5 to three-million tonnes of scrap a year through yards.

The same submission recorded 3,552 scrap metal dealers registered in 2024. Using an average of about 20 staff per site, RASA estimated that there are more than 70,000 people on formal yard payrolls.

“The sector supports an estimated 400,000 informal waste pickers who have a right to dignity and the freedom to earn an honest living,” said Borrajeiro.

Edward Nyoba has been collecting scrap metal for more than ten years. He often goes to a municipal dumpsite in Germiston where he can collect bigger pieces of metal in larger quantities, but he has to pay R1,000 to get inside.

Dau Thaisi, who also collects metal in Benoni, said he has been collecting scrap metal for seven years. He said he looks for copper because the resell value is higher than other metals. He makes about R600 a week, and whenever he can, he sends money to his wife and children in the Free State.

Thaisi said he always tries to negotiate for better prices, but the buyers refuse.

“The government needs to intervene to stop us from being exploited. As scrap collectors we contribute to the economy,” said Thaisi.

Pius Tsenang, who runs a cash-for-scrap business with his brother in Booysens, told GroundUp that the scrap business was complex. He said prices are determined by a company which they supply scrap to, and they receive different rates every morning.

Tsenang said prices differ according to fluctuations in the metal markets. Sometimes they pay more and sometimes they pay less, he said. “This is business. We also need to make a profit,” he said.

RASA CEO Nancy Strachan said the organisation has raised the alarm over how policies such as the PPS and export duties have made it difficult for reclaimers to get decent prices. She said the PPS has forced scrapyards to cut prices when buying scrap from reclaimers. Export duties imposed on scrap metal that has already been rejected for sale in South Africa further reduce prices, she argued.

“These two policies effectively devalue scrap metal in South Africa, long before anyone picks it up from a scrap heap or dump site. Formal recyclers are forced to sell to local mini mills at forced discounted rates.”

Strachan called on the government to suspend the PPS pending a thorough investigation of the policy’s impact. The export duty on scrap should be dropped to allow free and fair trade for the informal and formal metal recycling sector, she added.

Spokesperson for the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Bongani Lukhele said the introduction of the export tax in August 2021 was to complement and strengthen the PPS to improve the availability and affordability of good-quality scrap for domestic steelmaking.

Lukhele confirmed that the minister has asked for a broader industry review which will be discussed by the steel industry at a meeting soon.

“The department recognises that the effectiveness of the PPS and export tax needs to be assessed across the entire value chain, including scrap collectors and recyclers, and not solely in terms of their impact on domestic steel producers.”

He said the DTIC is finalising the review of the PPS, including measures to strengthen its administration and reconsider the applicable discount, alongside its review of the export tax and a policy determination on the future of the PPS ahead of its expiry in July 2027.

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