Local Media Framing of Scrap Metal Collection as Crime
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Local Media Framing of Scrap Metal Collection as Crime Steven Kohm1 · Kevin Walby1
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The presence of discarded metals in the back alleys of cities is a ubiquitous feature of contemporary urban life. To many, this metal is waste to be forgotten. To some, it is the basis of scrounging to survive. Based on a qualitative content analysis of news reports, we reflect on media framing of scrap metal collection in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Our analysis reveals that news media adopt a crime frame to depict metal collecting that emphasizes dangerousness and destruction of culture and history, while individualizing the actions of collectors and ignoring questions of urban poverty, racism and other contextual factors linked to crime. We contrast media representations with data from interviews with local scrappers and observations of the scrap metal industry in Winnipeg to illustrate what is absent in this media framing. We also reflect on the conundrums apparent with proposed metal crime regulations.
Introduction The presence of disused and seemingly discarded scrap metals in the back alleys of cities around the globe is a ubiquitous feature of urban life. Perhaps it is an inevitable outcome of the deindustrialization of Western cities, rapid global circulation of commodities, and hyper-consumption that ostensibly valuable metals are often thrown away, abandoned or stockpiled in the backstage areas of cities. To many, this is waste to be forgotten, along with other forms of trash (Edensor 2005). To some, it forms the basis of scrounging for survival and for others, it is the means to a semiskilled and productive form of work (Saleh 2016). Metal collection (or scrapping) involves locating quantities of aluminum, brass, copper, and other valuable metals to sell to local scrap yards, who in turn sell these commodities on a larger scale to global industries. Much of the scrap metal located in Western cities is bound for industries overseas, predominantly China. In this way, even individuals scrapping in the back alleys of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, are plugged into global circuits of capitalism and international trade. While scrapping could be seen as one of the oldest * Steven Kohm [email protected] Kevin Walby [email protected] 1
Criminal Justice, The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B2E9, Canada
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forms of recycling, it has tended to exist in the shadows. Bennett (2008) has referred to metal theft, in particular, as the dark side of the global recycling market. When metal collection becomes visible through media reports, however, the activity is most often framed as a type of crime that threatens individuals and sometimes the very fabric of society, rather than a socially and environmentally beneficial form of recycling or waste management (Brisman 2010). While most aspects of scrapping remain poorly understood, those activities framed as criminal by media are typically characterized as brazen, costly, dange
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