The operators of a number of recycling companies in the Bahamas have joined forces in an attempt to urge the government to rethink its decision to ban scrap metal and copper exports in the country.

The government issued a statement on Wednesday announcing a 90 day ban on the export of scrap metal, while a permanent ban has been placed on the export of copper. The bans are in response to widespread thefts of the materials, which are then sold on to other groups outside of the country. The government will now look to assess the situation before deciding on further action.

Trevas Hall, the proprietor of Presto Recycling, claims that the government should attempt to implement new measures rather than shutting the industry down. He says “The percentage of people that actually benefit from scrap outweighs the negatives. Without any consultations this ban was levied on us now. What am I supposed to do with my employees for three months when this is what we do on a daily basis to make our living.

“And then besides our direct employees we have hundreds of people – no one is going and stealing people’s stuff to bring in – I’m talking about people going into the bushes and cleaning up this island to bring in that scrap and they’re getting paid for it, an initiative that the government, nor the (Grand Bahama) Port Authority or no one else seems to have put in place, but we the people, the commoners managed to get in place. And the government did not regulate it. They had a mandate, their mandate was to regulate it.”