By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

COMMONWEALTH Ports Authority’s seaport manager Lee Cabrera says they do not inspect cargo that recycling firms ship off island.
Cabrera said they rely on descriptions of the cargo provided by the recycling firms.
He said he was not aware that any of his staff members take action when they see copper wire on the list of the outbound shipments.
According to Cabrera, the only thing CPA can do is to require the recycling company to provide a copy of its business license as proof that it is actually engaged in the scrap metal trade.
Cabrera said except for ready made garments, other items that may include scrap metal like copper wire that are being loaded into the container vans for outbound shipment are not inspected.
“Not at the moment,” he said, adding that the Division of Customs is concerned specifically with ready-made garments for the purpose of collecting user’s fees.
Customs has authority to inspect inbound cargo, he said. It may have authority with outbound cargo, but only if they are garments, Cabrera added.
Although there may be a need for a new law on shipping scrap metal, particularly copper wire, Cabrera said compliance should be the recycling company’s concern.
“There should be a regulation requiring compliance from the recycling companies and it should be enforced at the (recycling ) company’s facility,” he said.
Cabrera said that “if you have it loaded in the container and it is down at the port ready to be shipped out, it would be too late So why don’t you just inspect it at the recycler’s facility?”
The first part of the procedure in shipping recycled materials is to identify the buyer or the receiving party at the destination, he said.
Then, the containers are booked, with a detailed breakdown of all their contents.
The recycling firms, he said, are dealing with shipping companies that take care of the booking procedures before the items are shipped off island.
The shipment of stolen copper wire was among the concerns raised last week by one of the six recycling firms which complained about the “laxness” in the inspection of items being shipped off island.
Eric Cruz, president of Ericco/Maeda Joint Venture, said copper wire thefts could have been stopped earlier if authorities were not so “lenient.”
There is no market for copper wire and other scrap materials on island, he noted.
He believes that some recycling firms buy stolen items because they can be easily shipped off-island.