Quantities of scrap metal are collected in Tripoli in northern Lebanon for sorting and export on March 5, 2021. (Xinhua photo)
Economic crisis spawns the boom of scrap metal trade in northern Lebanon as many who lost their jobs are scrambling to collect and sell it, earning an equivalent daily wage of 7 U.S. dollars (black market rate).
BEIRUT, March 10 (Xinhua) -- For many who were expelled from the labor market amid the economic crisis in Lebanon, collecting and selling scrap metal has made a stable trade that provides new possibilities for their life.
"We collect scrap metal, which includes iron, aluminum, copper and plastic from various cities and districts in the north," Khaled al-Sheikh, a scrap metal dealer in northern Lebanon who employs 20 people including students, told Xinhua.
Al-Sheikh said he also receives large quantities of scrap metal from Syria after many cities and villages have been damaged or destroyed in the war-torn neighboring country, which has partly contributed to the boom of the scrap metal trade in northern Lebanon.
A tractor collects metal scrap in Tripoli in northern Lebanon on March 5, 2021. (Xinhua photo)
The daily wage for the workers in the trade stands at about 70,000 Lebanese pounds, which is equivalent to seven U.S. dollars calculated at the exchange rate in the black market, said al-Sheikh, as according to the World Bank, the economic crisis in Lebanon has led to a poverty rate exceeding 50 percent, an surge in unemployment and inflation as well as the collapse of the local currency.
Scrap metal is collected and sorted by type before exporting it by sea mainly to Turkey for recycling and processing, the scrap metal dealer explained.
"We export thousands of tons of scrap metal to Turkey annually, which provides income for the country in U.S. dollars," Mohammad Abboud, one of the scrap metal exporters, told Xinhua.
A worker sorts scrap metal in Tripoli in northern Lebanon on March 5, 2021. (Xinhua photo)
International studies showed that Lebanon's scrap metal is in high demand for its freedom from radioactive substances.
The scrap metal trade is particularly popular in Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, as about 70 percent of Lebanon's scrap metal export goes through the city's port. According to a port inspector who declines to reveal his name, the trade export brings in about 2 billion Lebanese pounds (13.24 million dollars) annually for the Tripoli port.
A worker sorts scrap metal in Tripoli in northern Lebanon on March 5, 2021. (Xinhua photo)
"I have been working in this trade for several years. I collect scrap metal from streets or buy it from citizens, and then take it to merchants' yards where I sell a ton of iron for about 600 dollars and a ton of tin for 400 dollars," Muhammad al-Ali, a 33-year-old resident in Tripoli, told Xinhua. ■
