New technology shows its mettle with latest Scrap Metal Dealer Act

Tackling the pressing problem of metal theft made a step change on 1st October when the newly overhauled Scrap Metal Dealers Act came into force. The loss of lead, in particular, frequently costs insurers many times more than the face value of the metal because of damage incurred to buildings.

However, one of the problems is that insurers have long been reluctant to foot the bill for the damage caused by lead theft which, according to the Association of British Insurers, runs to over £1 million a week, with owners of buildings having to find the additional cost. Yorkshire-based company, Trace-in-Metal, employs its cutting edge technology to further underpin the deterrent effect of the legislation.

With its goal of deterring metal theft and raising trading standards, the new legislation makes it illegal to accept cash payments for scrap with a requirement for dealers to be licensed and keep detailed ID and transaction records. Hefty fines will be imposed on those who deal in cash and any suspected of trading in stolen metal risk having their licenses revoked.

The Trace-in system enables every section of lead to be potentially traceable by infusing thousands of coded microdots into the metal with the use of the company’s finely tuned, patented ballistic technology.

Trace-in-Metal is supporting this new initiative by the police and local authorities by giving them an additional tool which provides an audit trail of stolen lead through the recycling process.

John Minary, a director of Trace-in-Metal explains, ‘We can trace the lead every step of the way as the dots survive smelting and are virtually impossible to remove. Marking is also applied to the surface enabling the stolen metals to be identified using a standard ultra-violet lamp.’

He went on to say, ‘Scrap metal recyclers can demonstrate compliance with the new, tough legislation, by being able to confirm the provenance of stolen metals. With simple equipment, smelters can also trace the origin of any stolen lead and link the information to a data base that can be accessed by law enforcement and tax authorities - a real step change in the fight against metal theft!.’

In order to save valuable police time, if the Trace-in-Metal system is installed, documentation is automatically generated for owners of marked lead to hand to law enforcement in the event of a theft.

Although the incidence of metal theft has started to come down from its 2011 height when it cost the UK economy an estimated £770m, there are still problem areas, such as Lincolnshire or the South East. Lead theft, in particular, badly affects valuable heritage in listed buildings with, according to English Heritage, one in seven listed churches still suffering because of it.

For more information visit www.trace-in-metal.com