Scrap metal is described as discarded metal suitable for reprocessing. I think the definition is constant right across the world, except for here in Jamaica. A railway line is not scrap metal, a road sign is not scrap metal, copper wire being used to transmit phone calls is not scrap metal, seats being used in a stadium are not scrap metal, manhole and drain covers are not scrap metal and most certainly burglar bars used to keep criminals out of a person's homes are not considered scrap metal.

Is it any wonder then, why so many people as well as companies and even the state itself are angry and confused about the people who keep taking their property and selling it to dealers as scrap metal? These people who go around just gathering metal seemingly oblivious to the damage they are causing have caused more than a billion dollars of property damage. I mean, how can anyone in their right mind scrap a bridge that is in use?

So, whether you agreed with him or not, Minister of Industry and Commerce Chris Tufton has scrapped the scrap metal industry. He shut it down indefinitely or at least until someone can find ways to control the rate at which suppliers to the industry, that is said to employ about 20,000 persons, are stripping every piece of metal that is currently in public view. It was only a matter of time before someone parked their car only to return and see it gone courtesy of someone involved in the scrap metal industry.

Was there a better way for the minister to handle the situation? Absolutely! Did the minister do the right thing? Absolutely! There will be many people who - depending on what their motives are - will say that the government acted hastily in shutting down the industry. In my estimation they waited too long. Had they acted more quickly taxpayers would have been spared the burden of the costs to replace street signs and other pieces of infrastructure that have been spirited away having been classified by persons unknown as metal that has been discarded.

primary concern

What concerns me is that the people within the industry don't seem to have an issue with the fact that the state's property and people's property were being stolen at an alarming rate; property that they have been selling without having the slightest concern about where the metal was coming from. I mean, don't scrap metal dealers watch the news? I want to know that if you hear that so much copper wire was stolen, and suddenly a large portion of said copper wire appears at your doorstep with a 'for sale' tagged to it, doesn't it ring a bell? Apparently not.

And you know why; because their primary concern is to make as much money as possible no matter who is being affected. It doesn't matter one bit that someone is going to have to find money, in many instances lots of it, to replace something someone just sold you and which you will then sell to make a profit.

Now, with the industry shut down there are the usual cries of despair. I am sure the good is suffering for the bad, but if you are a dealer in a thriving industry, some amount of attention must be paid to those who are potentially stealing people's property and selling it as scrap metal. Is it so hard to self-regulate?

Not everything has to be a hustle. Somewhere, somehow, there has to be a system by which we can earn ' a food' that is not at the expense of someone else. It makes no sense. So until someone figures out how to regulate the industry so that every piece of 'scrap metal' can be traced back to its source and only sold once it is determined that it was not acquired illegally, then the industry should remain locked down. If not, in time there won't be any metal left anywhere in Jamaica - scrap or otherwise.

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