No cash payments for scrap metal, say what? This is quickly becoming a trend in many states and countries in an effort to reduce metal theft.
People steal things and metal theft has always occurred. However, there is some truth in what is happening and that is the majority of people who steal are desperate to make ends meet. Does that clear the crime, no it doesn’t.
Refrigerators, stoves and televisions used to sit on curbs for weeks or until the garbage man or city official eventually ticketed the item. That clearly doesn’t happen today. Put out an old fridge today and it disappears in less than 30 minutes.
There are many highlights pointed to that suggest that the no cash payments for scrap metal idea will work. The most talked about is the ability to know who is scrapping what. This is where the cash issue comes into play. Instead of receiving cash, your ID is recorded, the metals you brought in are noted and then you are mailed a check.
Sure, this idea may catch a few bad guys but it really hurts the good guys, men and women who have been depending on their daily haul to pay bills and put food on the table.
I have visited many scrap yards across the United States and I agree that there should be more attention to detail, as far as visually inspecting scrapper’s loads. I do not agree with the no cash payments for scrap metal method as a way to catch a small handful of individuals who steal because hundreds of thousands of other scrappers do not steal metal. Simply put, thieves will just find another way while the law abiding scrappers continue to suffer.
How can we stop no cash payments for scrap metal laws from being implemented everywhere?
Truth is, it’s going to take everyone working together. Since most scrappers work for themselves, each person runs their business differently. The thing that everyone has in common just like auto and brake shops is the quality of the work performed.
You’re probably thinking that quality of service does not matter since you are not actually dealing with customers. Fact is, just like a company that does bad repairs or overcharges quickly finds their name being spread across town in a negative way, the same is now happening to scrappers and the metal industry.
• Metal thieves are a problem but leaving busted open garbage bags and other rubbish on people’s lawns also causes neighborhoods concern.
• If you rip open bags of trash in search of scrap, replace the bag. Do not take apart items on people’s curbside, take them with you.
• When people set out their garbage it is prepared according to the city and waste companies guidelines. If you leave a mess that causes the homeowner to be ticketed, they will not only be upset, this person will probably file a complaint about scrappers as well.
That scenario is a true example that has happened numerous times and is some of the reasons why the push for no cash payments for scrap metal is being touted.
If you look at it from this angle, it makes it easy to find the scrapper that took a GE fridge on Hardy St and damaged the driveway. Accountability and responsibility are the most argued points in this new law.
Metal in one form or another is used in everything and I mean everything. A large majority of the products that we use today are made with recycled metal as well. If needless changes are made to the way that recyclers receive metal, prices for products that contain metal will rise.
There are many reasons why prices will rise but the most important to me is the increase in processing time. The longer that it takes scrap yards to move the line of trucks that are already wrapped around the block, the less money we make per day.
That may sound like a good idea in someone’s mind. However, if scrappers stop collecting metal from curbsides because it is no longer worth the effort we all lose.
• All scrappable items will start to gather and sit on curbs for weeks once more. Homeowners will have to pay the city or some haul away company to come and retrieve items. Old fridges, stoves and water heaters will begin to fill alleys and fields again.
• The amount of scrap metal items that already make their way to our landfills could possibly double or triple. The rust from metal items is a great concern of many because rust poisons the ground and eventually seeps down into our water table.
• In the end, what you do today determines the availability of scrap tomorrow. If scrapping metal puts food on your plate and pays your bills, treat the job with that same amount of importance. If you know of illegal scrapping or scrappers that steal metal, you are only harming yourself and your business if you do not report them.