Junkshop system for scrap yards in Iloilo City.
The junkshops in a 2024 study of Iloilo City bought more than 1,500 tonnes of recyclables a month, weighed at the yard and priced load by load. Here's what the study found, and how ScrapTrack keeps a record of every weigh-in.
- Junkshops in the study
- 33, with 26 surveyed across six of the city's seven districts
- Bought each month
- 1,584.83 tonnes of recyclables, plus 115,470 glass bottles
- Biggest material
- Ferrous metals: 608.26 tonnes a month, 38.38% of the weight
- Share of the city's waste
- 10.65% of what Iloilo City throws out each day, or 33.49 tonnes
Source: Romallosa, Penetrante and Ravena, "Junkshops as Recycling Chain Actors in the Recovery of Waste Resources from a Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines", Applied Environmental Research 46(3), published September 5, 2024, abstract and Results, checked October 1, 2026. A summary of a study, not legal advice.
Where Iloilo City names junkshops in its permit steps.
We found no junkshop ordinance, but the city's citizen's charter names junkshops in one step: the City ENRO certificate of compliance. Business permits come from the Permits and Licensing Division of the Office of the Mayor.
City ENRO certificate
- Get City ENRO's deed of undertaking form from the business permits office
- Hand it back notarized
- An ocular inspection with the joint inspection team
- No fee; about 5 hours in all
After the permit
- An approved environmental clearance certificate from City ENRO, 5th floor, City Hall
- A sanitary permit from the City Health Office
- A CCTV certificate of compliance, where the city's CCTV camera ordinance requires it
- Taxes paid every quarter in the first year, then yearly
Carwashes, laundries, water refilling stations, restaurants and repair shops file the same deed of undertaking. Sources: Iloilo City Citizen's Charter 2026, General Admin Services, City ENRO service 4, and Citizen's Charter 2025, Economic Services, new business permit, checked October 1, 2026. A summary, not legal advice. Check the latest rules with the Permits and Licensing Division and City ENRO.
How Iloilo City junkshops work, from the 2024 study.
Researchers from Central Philippine University and the city's General Services Office surveyed the owners and managers of 26 junkshops face to face. They started from a city list of 17 registered junkshops, found some had closed, and added shops that other owners pointed them to. Most were in Mandurriao, where the city's sanitary landfill is.
The yard
- Most are open 7 to 8 hours a day (80.77% of shops surveyed)
- Most work on 50 to 1,000 square meters (96.14%)
- About two in three rent their space (65.38%)
- Most are built of light materials (88.46%)
At the scale
- One to three scales per yard, from 10 kg to 150 kg
- Rejects are sorted out first and returned to the seller
- Prices are agreed per load, by volume and the seller's standing
- Sellers are paid in cash, and no price list is posted outside
Permits
- 72% of the 25 junkshops at the study's business forum had business permits
- 76% of the same group had a DTI business name registration
- The city's starting list had 17 registered junkshops; 33 took part in the study
Where it goes
- Bigger junkshops and consolidators in Iloilo City
- Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Leganes and Estancia in Iloilo Province
- Novaliches and Valenzuela City in Metro Manila
- Antique, Laguna, Cebu and Cavite. Panay has no recycling plants yet.
Unsold materials stay in the yard or go to the sanitary landfill in the shop's own vehicles. 63.40% of what the junkshops bought came from inside Iloilo City. An earlier CPU study counted 58 junkshops in 2009, mostly unregistered micro-enterprises in La Paz, Molo and City Proper, each collecting up to 5 tons a week, mostly iron and scrap metal. Source: Romallosa, Penetrante and Ravena, "Junkshops as Recycling Chain Actors in the Recovery of Waste Resources from a Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines", Applied Environmental Research 46(3), published September 5, 2024, Tables 1, 3, 4 and 5, checked October 1, 2026. 2009 figures: Arenas, doctoral dissertation abstract, Central Philippine University. A summary of a study, not legal advice.
What Iloilo City junkshops paid per kilo in August 2021.
The study's average buying prices, from data collected in August 2021. Prices move with what consolidators and competitors pay, so treat these as a record of that month, not today's rate.
- Non-ferrous metals. Copper ₱323.81, brass and alloys ₱170.94, aluminum ₱47.76.
- Ferrous metals. Steel bars ₱14.79, tin cans ₱11.94, assorted metals ₱12.00, GI roofing and sheets ₱8.70.
- Plastics. HDPE ₱16.90, PP ₱15.22, PS ₱10.25, PET ₱6.40, PVC ₱6.38, LDPE ₱2.60.
- Paper. Newspaper ₱7.33, cartons ₱3.91, white paper ₱2.50, mixed paper ₱1.43.
- Glass. Clear glass ₱3.00 a kilo or ₱1.21 a piece; brown and green bottles ₱0.50 a piece.
Half of the shops surveyed (13 of 26) buy every type; others buy only glass or only plastics. By value, ferrous metals were 44.39% of what the shops bought each month. Source: Romallosa, Penetrante and Ravena, "Junkshops as Recycling Chain Actors in the Recovery of Waste Resources from a Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines", Applied Environmental Research 46(3), published September 5, 2024, Table 2 and Figure 6, checked October 1, 2026. A summary of a study, not legal advice.
Every negotiated price, saved on its ticket.
When the price is agreed load by load, the ticket is the record of what was paid.
Works at the scale
Staff log each weigh-in with its material, weight and price per kilo, on a budget Android phone.
Your own material list
Your materials, your names, your prices per kilo.
Stock updates
Each weigh-in adds to stock by material, so you know what the yard is holding before a buyer calls.
Setup in Iloilo City
We don't offer on-site setup in Iloilo City right now. Remote setup by video call works anywhere, and your team can message us on Viber or WhatsApp after.
Questions from Iloilo City yards.
Something else? Message us on Viber or WhatsApp, or email sales@orvyn-solutions.com.
See ScrapTrack set up for an Iloilo City yard.
We'll walk you through a day of weigh-ins with sample tickets, and show where each record lives. You get a quote after.
or email sales@orvyn-solutions.com