KENYA · GUIDE 0765 · EDITION 4.2
Scrap metal sorting in Kenya: Customers and Market Demand
The buyer and the buying decision
Workshops, property operators and verified metal buyers. The offer to test is: Sort lawful scrap metal by buyer-accepted grade without hazardous processing.
Define the metal categories and lawful sourcing evidence required by the buyer, excluding unknown containers or hazardous equipment that cannot be safely identified and handled within the operation.
Separate interest from an accepted order
Accept a small documented batch only after confirming ownership and downstream terms.
The purpose of this test is to establish whether the buyer accepts the specified result, delivery arrangement and payment terms. An encouraging interview does not establish repeat demand. Ask what the buyer currently uses, what would make them change supplier and who has authority to approve the first order. Record a refusal as carefully as an enquiry so that unsuccessful offers do not disappear from the evidence.
Collect evidence specific to this offer
Keep source confirmations, grade disputes, accepted weights, separation time and buyer deductions, documenting excluded items so future collection teams recognise what the business has decided not to handle.
| Question to resolve | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| What exactly will the buyer accept? | Present a representative sorted batch to the intended buyer and reconcile grade descriptions with accepted weights, checking whether coatings or mixed attachments change the classification and payment basis. |
| What is included in the first trial? | Define the metal categories and lawful sourcing evidence required by the buyer, excluding unknown containers or hazardous equipment that cannot be safely identified and handled within the operation. |
| How will a prospect see the offer? | Build relationships with legitimate workshops and buyers using transparent weigh records. |
| What must happen before repeating the trial? | The lot is traceable and accurately graded without handling suspect or stolen material. |
Decide whether to continue
Review the specification with the buyer before committing to tools or stock. A trial is commercially useful only if actual costs, rejected work, time spent and cash collected can be reconciled. A mixed scrap load can disappoint when valuable-looking items contain lower-value material, lawful ownership is unclear or hidden contamination makes handling and resale inappropriate for the planned operation.
If a buyer changes the required output, record a new scope and re-cost the test. Do not count a request for a different product as proof of demand for the original one. Keep personal contact details in your private records and use customer statements publicly only with permission.
Turn the example into a buyer test
Fictional sorting contract at an appropriately authorized scrap business: separate a documented 200 kg batch of ordinary released metal offcuts into the receiver’s agreed grades. Work is limited to hand sorting/identification within competence, weighing and source records. Exclude utilities/infrastructure material of uncertain ownership, batteries, pressurized vessels, e-waste dismantling, burning insulation, melting and chemical assays. Verify the actual Scrap Metal Council and environmental requirements before operating; this guide is not a licence.
| Buyer discussion | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Specification to confirm | Suspicious/public-infrastructure-looking material is held for the proper authority/process, not casually traded. |
| Output to inspect | Every batch has a traceable source/destination and actual accepted weight. |
| Failure that can defeat acceptance | Grade purity is disputed |
Ask the buyer to describe one acceptable and one unacceptable result. Record the decision maker, price basis, quantity, handover point and payment date privately. A sample request, an encouraging conversation and an accepted order are different evidence. Keep the first commitment within your demonstrated capacity; no customer interview or successful trial is asserted here.
What a failed test should change
Compare buyer examples and actual identification evidence.. If the offer cannot meet that check, revise the specification or process before promising a repeat. Keep rejected offers and reasons in the same register as positive replies so that your record does not exaggerate demand.