CARI Updates Lobbying Efforts

The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI), Ajax, Ontario, is involved in several national and provincial lobbying efforts, according to Len Shaw, the group’s president, and Marvin Rosenshein, its current president.

On the national front, CARI has been involved for about seven years in trying to help shape and translate the North American Cargo Securement Standard (NACSS), at times in cooperation with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) of Washington.

The principle concerns raised in 1998 were on the section pertaining to containment of parts from “crushed and flattened” vehicles. The project culminated in a model regulation in January 2003 that has been adopted, either by reference or a specific new regulation, in every province, according to Shaw.

Now that members are actually being stopped by inspectors who are interpreting these new regulations, several issues have emerged, he adds. “There is the concern with ‘cubed’ cars that are prepared with logger balers,” Shaw writes in CARI’s The Pulse newsletter. “Are they ‘flattened or crushed’ vehicles or not? There is the concern about not being able to use synthetic strapping for “crushed or flattened” vehicles. Can they do the job safely? There is a concern about the containment of parts from ‘crushed or flattened’ vehicles. What sizes of gaps are permissible in any cover?”

Shaw says CARI is working with federal government representatives and various members on the “crushed or flattened” vehicles, “cubed” vehicles and strapping issues.

In Manitoba, some concerns have been raised about lugger boxes, and whether they need some additional securement device. Shaw says CARI is currently working with Manitoba CARI members and the Manitoba government on lugger boxes.

A CARI member has asked the group with assistance in dealing with the China Certification and Inspection Corp. (CCIC, Canada).

After CCIC, North America withdrew services for Canadian companies in the summer of 2004, CARI worked with two Canadian government departments and eventually had the issue raised at a World Trade Organization committee meeting. This helped lead to the creation of CCIC, Canada, with an office opened in Richmond, B.C.

But it appears that CCIC, Canada does not have sufficient resources to do its job in a timely manner in Quebec and Eastern Canada, according to Shaw. Direct approaches by one scrap company to CCIC, Canada did not generate any results. A direct request by CARI to the People’s Republic of China embassy in Ottawa to take action has led to a dialogue with CCIC, Canada, but the process is just underway, according to Shaw.

On the local level, CARI was informed earlier this year by a member that the Region of Waterloo had initiated a new by-law to regulate salvage shops and salvage yards, which includes auto wreckers and scrap yards.

The most contentious issues were the proposed need to have a professional engineer certify to an environmental audit; the solid fence with a minimum and maximum height, set backs of the fence from adjoining properties and set backs for piled materials within yards; restricted hours of operation; more restrictive hours of operation for certain equipment; and excluded from operation on statutory holidays. “CARI has joined with the local Waterloo Salvage Committee, petitioned the region, provided information about the scrap industry and attended meetings,” says Shaw. “The latest draft regulation has been greatly improved and outstanding issues have been provided to the region,” he adds, noting that the next meeting of the Waterloo Salvage Committee will be held on November 8.

In western Canada, as a result of property theft and items being broken down into scrap material, the Vancouver police are enforcing a by-law that Shaw says is “clearly designed for second-hand dealers and pawn brokers.”

CARI has spoken with the City of Vancouver to explain the actual nature of the scarp metal recycling industry and the impracticality and impossibility of complying with the by-law. CARI is working with the police to have this by-law amended, according to Shaw.

Shaw remarks that just because CARI gets involved in an issue does not mean that it will be resolved to the satisfaction of members, “if, in fact, it gets resolved at all, because most of these issues are government initiated.” He also points out that lobbying often takes considerable time.