Metal recycling site
The short answer
A scrap yard. Metal arrives there as waste, so it is a receiving site: a permitted one reports every load it takes in from 1 October 2026, and a small one running on a T9 exemption follows at phase two.
In practice
Being paid for scrap does not stop it being waste. The Environment Agency's guidance on deciding whether a material is waste says a material with a high economic value can still be discarded and classed as waste, and gives scrap metal as its example. So a plumber weighing lead in is handing over waste, and the yard is receiving it.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 is a separate licence, issued by the council. It bans paying for scrap in cash, requires the seller's name and address to be checked, and makes the dealer keep records for three years. Holding it does not make a yard a receiver, and not holding it does not excuse a permitted yard from reporting.
Where LoadSnap touches it
LoadSnap treats a scrap yard as any other receiving site: weighbridge receipts against the 17 04 metal codes, and DEFRA filings from October 2026.