Scrap metal licensing policy

View the SMDA in full, including explanatory notes.

As set out in the SMDA, all scrap metal dealers must obtain a licence from the local authority in order to carry on their business. It is an offence to carry on a business as a scrap metal dealer without first obtaining the appropriate licence. The offence is punishable on summary conviction with an unlimited fine in the Magistrates Court.

A dealer is defined as:

(a) someone carrying on a business which consists wholly or in part of buying and selling scrap metal, whether or not the metal is sold in the form in which it is bought or

(b) who carries on business as a motor salvage operator (so far as that does not fall in paragraph a)

However, a manufacturing business that sells scrap metal created only as a by-product of the processes it uses, or because it has a surplus of materials, is not caught by this definition.

Under the SMDA, scrap metal includes:

• any old, waste or discarded metal or metallic material, and
• any product, article or assembly which is made from or contains metal and is broken, worn out or regarded by its last holder as having reached the end of its useful life.

Gold, silver, and any alloy of which 2% or more by weight is attributable to gold or silver is not considered to be ‘scrap metal’. However, the definition does include platinum and a range of other rare metals that are now being used in catalytic convertors. For this reason, catalytic converters are often targeted by thieves as they can be quickly removed from parked vehicles. Thieves may then attempt to sell stolen converters via scrapyards, online or ship them abroad. Importantly, the definition focuses on the condition of the metal rather than the purpose of the sale. For example, a broken or damaged catalytic converter, which is unlikely to work without repair, is likely to meet the definition of scrap metal. Similarly metal stolen from historic sites is likely to be presented for sale in a damaged state and therefore fall under the definition.

Provisions within the SMDA allow the Secretary of State by order to amend the definition of ‘scrap metal’.

Find the Government’s supplementary guidance on the SMDA.

There are two types of licence. Both last for a period of three years:

The operator of any site in the District whose operations may include the buying and/or selling of scrap metal should carefully consider whether they require a site licence under the SMDA.

A site is defined as any premises used in the course of carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer (whether or not metal is kept there). This includes motor salvage operations which themselves undertake the following:

• part or whole recovery of salvageable parts for re sale, and or for sale as vehicle for scrap
• wholly or mainly buying written off vehicles and then repairing and selling them
• wholly or mainly buying or selling motor vehicles for the purpose of salvaging parts from them or repairing them and selling them.

Skip hire companies may require a site licence depending on the circumstances. A company engaged in the buying or selling of scrap metal is likely to require a licence from the Council, unless the activity is considered a minimal or minor part of the business.

It is important to note that any person, agent, broker or trader that buys or sells metal on paper or online without operating a physical scrap metal site is carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer and will require a licence. This person would need a site licence granted by Buckinghamshire Council in line with the requirements of the SMDA if the premises from which they trade is based in the Council’s area.

Buckinghamshire Council is responsible for granting licences to any site located within the Council’s boundaries. All of the sites within the Council’s area from which the licence holder carries on the business as a scrap metal dealer must be identified. A site manager must be named for each site. A site licence holder can transport scrap metal from third party businesses by arrangement from any other local council area provided it is in the course of the business from that site but cannot engage in the regular door to door collections of a licensed collector.

A collector is defined as a person who carries on a business as a scrap metal dealer otherwise than at a site, and regularly engages in the course of that business in collecting waste metal including old, broken, worn out or defaced articles by means of door-to-door collections. Scavenging for metal can be classed as making door to door collections

A Buckinghamshire Council issued collector’s licence allows the licensee to only operate as a mobile collector within the Council’s boundaries. It does not allow the collector to operate in any other council areas, and a separate licence must be obtained from each council area the collector wishes to operate in. The licence does not authorise the licensee to operate a site. There is no restriction regarding the location to where the collector can transport and sell scrap metal.

A mobile collector cannot store scrap metal at a premises. However, in the course of a collection, it is common practice for collectors to wait for their vehicle to be at capacity before unloading it at a scrap metal dealer’s site. This Council does not consider the storage of scrap metal on the collector’s vehicle to render the premises the vehicle is stored at as a site, providing the vehicle is not unloaded.

Those transporting metal to a scrap metal site for profit are required to be registered as a ‘waste carrier’. Waste carriers must ensure that the waste goes to a properly licensed or exempt site; they must complete a waste transfer note which must include a description of the waste and be signed by the carrier and the person to whom the waste is given or sold. Details of licensed sites can be checked on the Environment Agencies public register.

A dealer can only hold one type of licence in any one council authority area. They cannot hold both a site and mobile collectors’ licence with Buckinghamshire Council.

Either type of licence, can be issued to an individual, a partnership or a company.

A scrap metal dealer who holds a site licence must display a copy at each site identified on the licence. A dealer who holds a collector’s licence must display a copy of the licence on any vehicle that is being used in the course of the dealer’s business so it can be easily read by a person outside the vehicle. The Council will provide a visible identification plate or disc that can be placed on licence holders’ collection vehicles to help residents to easily identify licensed scrap metal dealers.

Where an applicant or any site manager has been convicted of a relevant offence, and the Council determines to grant a licence, the Council may use its powers under the SMDA to include the following conditions on a licence:

• that the dealer must not receive scrap metal except between 09.00 and 17.00 on any day;
• that all scrap metal received must be kept in the form in which it is received for a specified period, not exceeding 72 hours, beginning with time when it is received.

As required by the SMDA, a register of licences issued under the SMDA is maintained by the Environment Agency in England. The Council will provide the appropriate information on all scrap metal licences issued in the district to the Environment Agency for this purpose. The register is openly accessible to the public and includes the name of the authority which issued the licence; the name of the licence holder; any trading name; the type of licence; the site(s) covered by the licence and expiry date of the licence.