Running your own scrap metal collection business It’s not just business – it’s a daily adventure! Every day brings new challenges and discoveries. We’re learning to identify metals, and discovering their properties and uses. Sometimes we feel like detectives – searching for hidden value in seemingly ordinary scrap metal. After all, you often find real treasures amongst the scrap: copper, tin, aluminium, and even gold, silver or rare-earth metals such as neodymium or German.
That’s precisely what makes this profession so fascinating. But to discover that, you have to get through the more demanding part – the paperwork.
Step by step: how do you set up a scrap metal collection business?
Find a suitable location
To start a business, you must have a registered company and premises – either your own or rented – which:
- is covered by the Local Spatial Development Plan (MPZP), which permits industrial activity,
- or has a planning permission decision (WZ) – if there is no local development plan,
- has a floor area of at least 2,000–3,000 m²,
- is tarmac-surfaced, with access for lorries,
- has access to electricity and water,
- Ideally, it should have a hall or shed for storing precious metals.
- If you intend to collect combustible waste, please consult a fire safety specialist or expert regarding compliance with fire safety requirements in relation to the quantity of waste, storage locations and methods of storage.
If the plot is being let, a notarised agreement is required.
2. Obtain a decision on environmental conditions
- This decision is issued on the basis of the project information sheet and/or the environmental impact report (an application for the decision is submitted to the local authority with jurisdiction over the location of the waste collection site)
- The local authority sends the documentation to the following authorities for their opinion or approval: the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, and PGW Wody Polskie (the Catchment Area Management Board or the Regional Water Management Authority)
- The environmental conditions decision obtained is a mandatory annex to the application for a planning permission decision and the application for a waste collection licence
3. Obtain a waste collection licence
If you plan to harvest up to 3,000 tonnes per year, the permit is issued by the District Administrator. For quantities above this, it is issued by the Provincial Governor. The application must include, amongst other things:
- company and property details,
- the waste codes for the waste you intend to collect,
- stock levels and annual limits,
- a description of the method of storage and environmental protection,
- Attachments: plot map, title deed to the land, environmental impact assessment, fire safety report drawn up by a specialist or fire safety expert (if required – in the case of combustible waste), proof of payment of stamp duty.
4. Once a waste collection licence has been granted:
- register your business with the BDO (Waste Database for waste collection and transport),
- get an IT system for managing codes, KPO and stock records,
- find buyers for scrap metal,
- Equip your company with:
- a certified set of scales,
- containers, boxes, crates,
- spectrometer, cutting equipment, forklift trucks, cranes.
- CCTV monitoring – in the case of the collection of combustible waste and/or hazardous waste
5. Record-keeping and reporting obligations
In addition to the standard obligations of a business owner, such as keeping accounts and paying taxes, a person running a scrap metal collection business has environmental obligations:
- Recording of KPO and KEO in BDO – in real time, for every transaction.
- Annual waste report to BDO – by 15 March each year.
- KOBiZE report (emissions) – by 28 February, if your facility emits gases and particulates into the air (e.g. operates forklift trucks powered by lead-acid batteries, LPG, diesel, a conventional boiler room, company cars, or waste transport vehicles)
- Environmental Impact Report – by 31 March – if your premises emit gases and particulates into the air (e.g. forklift trucks running on lead, LPG, ON, traditional boiler rooms, company cars, and waste transport vehicles). Furthermore, if the calculated environmental usage charge exceeds 800 zł – it must be paid into the Marshal’s Office account by 31 March
- Reports from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) (if you receive a request) – relating to energy consumption, waste and production.
How can we help you?
As a responsible partner, RMC Polska is always on hand to offer assistance and advice to companies in the sector. Our partners can count on our support in every aspect, and in particular:
- Support with environmental regulations and administrative procedures
- Support regarding the legal aspects of waste management
- Support with raising funds to finance business operations
If you’re planning to open scrap metal collection or if you’re already running a business and need support – get in touch with us!
We’ll help you get started, ensure you comply with the regulations and grow your business.
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RM 24 April 2025
