Junkshop records for scrap yards in Manila.
A 1962 Manila ordinance has second-hand dealers report each day's purchases to the Chief of Police, and a 1974 one bars scrap dealers from buying manhole covers. Here's what the city's records say, and how ScrapTrack keeps a record of every weigh-in.
- Daily purchase report
- Ordinance No. 4509 (1962): all articles bought, with the sellers' names and addresses, to the Chief of Police
- Manhole covers
- Ordinance No. 7581 (1974): secondhand and scrap dealers may not acquire covers or frames taken from the streets
- Junkshops counted
- 84 in MMDA's 2022 plan, and 61 in the national inventory as of December 2023
- Without a permit
- Junk shops on Road 10, Tondo, were closed in October 2019
Sources: City Council of Manila ordinance records, the MMDA solid waste master plan (2022), the NSWMC junk shop inventory (December 2023) and the Inquirer (October 6, 2019), checked October 1, 2026. A summary, not legal advice. Check the latest rules with the Manila Bureau of Permits.
What Manila's ordinances say about junk shops.
Two old Municipal Board ordinances name junk shops and scrap dealers directly. One sets a daily report of purchases; the other bans buying street metal.
A daily report of purchases (1962)
- Ordinance No. 4509 amended Section 752-g of Chapter 77, "Second-hand Dealers and Keepers of Junk Shops", of the Compiled Ordinances of the City of Manila
- Owners of second-hand establishments submit a daily report to the Chief of Police of all articles purchased
- The report names the persons the articles were bought from, with their addresses
- Articles from U.S. Government agencies and depots, or imported and released through the Bureau of Customs, were left out of the report
Manhole covers and frames (1974)
- Ordinance No. 7581 makes it unlawful to take away, alter or remove manhole covers and frames, or catch basin covers and frames, from any street or public place in Manila, or to possess or sell them
- Secondhand and scrap dealers, or anyone, may not acquire the same items
- The penalty is a ₱200 fine or six months in jail, and a secondhand or scrap dealer's business permit is cancelled
- D.O. No. 8541, a proposed ordinance filed on July 4, 2023, would amend that penalty section. The council lists it as pending committee hearing.
Both ordinances were passed by the Municipal Board, which came before today's City Council. They are in the council's online records, but we couldn't confirm how they are applied today. Sources: City Council of Manila records of Ordinance No. 4509 (approved May 25, 1962), Ordinance No. 7581 (approved November 20, 1974) and proposed ordinance D.O. No. 8541 (filed July 4, 2023), checked October 1, 2026. A summary, not legal advice.
Junk shops in Manila's waste programs and permits.
Manila's waste plans count on junk shops to take recyclables, and its permit office has closed shops that ran without a permit.
- Recyclables. City Ordinance No. 8371, dated November 18, 2014, sends segregated recyclables to recycling centers, eco-centers or junk dealers. MMDA's plan notes that a MOA between the city and junkshop operators was drafted.
- Plastic for cash. Under the "Collect, Kilo, Kita" project with Unilever Philippines, plastic wrappers were traded for cash. During the pandemic junk shops were tapped to take clean, cut and dry wrappers, at ₱3 a kilo.
- Junkshop counts. MMDA's 2022 plan counted 84 junkshops and 671 materials recovery systems in Manila. The national commission's inventory as of December 2023 lists 61 local junkshops.
- Permits. In October 2019 the city closed eight businesses for running without business permits and blocking the road, among them junk shops along Road 10 in Tondo. The Bureau of Permits chief led the serving of the closure orders.
- Street metal. In February 2024, a man caught by Barangay 733 officials in Malate taking a manhole cover told police he meant to sell it to a junk shop for ₱300.
Sources: MMDA, Metro Manila 25-year Solid Waste Management Master Plan, March 14, 2022 (pages 50 to 51, 127 and 144); NSWMC, Inventory of Junk Shops and Recycling Facilities per Region, as of December 2023; Inquirer, October 6, 2019; Daily Tribune, February 29, 2024; all checked October 1, 2026. The counts are from 2022 and 2023. A summary, not legal advice.
Each day's purchases in one place.
Ordinance No. 4509 is about knowing what you bought each day, and from whom. ScrapTrack saves each weigh-in at the scale.
A number on every ticket
No more arguing over which slip is which. Look up any weigh-in by its ticket number.
Suki records
Each supplier's tickets, payments and balance in one place.
Totals by day or week
Bought, paid and owed for today, this week, or any date you pick.
Setup in Manila
We don't offer on-site setup in Manila right now. Remote setup by video call works anywhere, and your team can message us on Viber or WhatsApp after.
Questions from Manila yards.
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See ScrapTrack set up for a Manila yard.
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