"SCRAP" WASTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 33, 9 February 1939, Page 13

"SCRAP" WASTE.

OLD METAL DUMPED. RESULT OF EXPORT EMBARGO POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE ? At the present time more than £70,000 a year is being buried in the ground or thrown into city and suburban rubbish tips in New Zealand. Thie waste is the direct result of the Government ban on the export of scrap metal, which was enforced In October, 1037. Unable to dispose of the waste at any price, although it ie commanding a fair price on the world market, firms threw away old wrought iron and steel valued at £f ( 0.000, and tin cuttings worth £20,000, during the past 12 months. Every engineering firm In the country has a certain amount of waste metal in the "scrap" category, and the averagesized business in Auckland has to dump more than 100 tons a year—a particularly moderate estimate. With the enforcement of the ban, and no buyers offering, they have been compelled in most instances to pay for the metal to be carried to the tips and dumped. Government Depot. A suggestion made by Mr. F. Appleton at a meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last night, that the Government should establish depots to collect the material, was lost when it was put as a motion, though it received strong support from several engineering firms this morning. Mr. Appleton estimated that more than 100 tons a month were being wasted in Auckland and. even if the Government did not continue with its proposal to establish iron mills, the metal could be disposed* of profitably. Elaborating his proposal this morning, he pointed out that the Government would possess a valuable asset, and could have the metal free by supplying the necessary transport to take the '"scrap" to a central Government dump. As it was, there was only a shameful waste and firms had to pay cartage. Cast iron, he said, could be sold in New Zealand and melted down for use, but the necessary mills for the handling of old wrought iron and steel were not in this country. Even if. however, the Government did not intend to dispose of the metal for some years, it would always show a clear *profit as it cost nothing except wages to collect. Possible Metal Boom. "If the embargo ie ever removed," he said, "we will see the same thing happening as happened in previous scrap metal booms, when people were frantically digging into old rubbish tipe to unearth what had been dumped. Why not be prepared for such eventualities and let the State profit when they arise?" From other quarters it was learned that a tremendous amount of waste metal came from the railway workshops—old engines and the thousand and one oddments that are left over ■from a huge industry. In some cases the metal was beinjr dumped in the open and in other cases it was buried. A more optimistic view was expressed by Mr. G-eorge McKendriek, of McKendrick Brothers, Limited, a firm which has handled the greatest part of the scrap metal trade of the Dominion in the past, and which has dumps all over New Zealand. Much of the metal held by the firm lies on railway sidings throughout the country, and Mr. McKendrick stated that the Government had been particularly reasonable when approached, a compromise being reached under which the firm's siding rents had ln?en left temporarily in abeyance pending further developments. "No Definite Promise." "In reply to representations made by my firm the Government ha« intimated that it will look into the matter with the object of preventing the enormous waste," he said. "What will be done I cannot say. No definite promise has been made, but the authorities have been eminently reasonable as far as we are concerned." When the embargo was put on, he said, the total value at prevailing prices was about £100,000, but values had dropped considerably since then. Scrap would still be worth about £2 a ton in Australia and possibly £4 a ton in Japan. Seriously affected at the time of the ban were tin clippings, which were then worth about £20,000 a year to the country, a big market offering in Australia, England and Germany. He pointed out that Australia was still exporting scrap iron, which the watersiders were loading freely. The Port Kembla trouble had been in connection with the loading of new pig-iron. "But in New Zealand we do not need to be undulv pessimistic. It is possible that the Government, which is now fully aware of the waetage occurring, may make different arrangements. When the position was pointed out every courtesy was shown and an anxiety to arrive at a just decision."