Nail that siding tight! Metal thieves grow brash
Soaring metal prices and high demand create a market for pilfered scrap metal in the US.
from the April 24, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
At the national level, the scrap industry group ISRI has created an e-mail alert system that notifies members of metal thefts reported to police.
"[Scrap recycling] saves a lot of energy and avoids material going to landfill and helps the environment, and so we want to encourage that. And the vast majority – 99 plus percent – of the transactions are legitimate," says Mr. Hirsch. "Our concern is just not discouraging legitimate recycling by a concern for a relatively small number of thefts."
That means giving scrap yards a certain amount of leeway in deciding how best to get and record positive identification from suppliers and their materials, he says.
A bill in the California legislature would tighten such requirements already placed on scrap yards. Currently, recyclers are obligated to keep written records of sales that include identification information and a signed statement from the seller that they are the rightful owners of the metal. The new regulations would require scrap dealers to pay for metals with a check rather than cash and to hold on to the materials for at least 10 days.
The check requirement worries some dealers. Custom Alloy Scrap Sales in Oakland, Calif., says that cash payments allow their scrap suppliers to go out and procure more metals the same day.
But all yards contacted said they want to do their part to crack down on theft. After all, it hurts the image of their businesses – and many have been victims themselves.
The manager for Alco Iron & Metal Co. in San Leandro says he has come to work and found would-be thieves tangled up in the razor wire protecting the yard. He is confident that his operation completely shuns stolen materials through cooperation with the local police, ID scans, and questioning of buyers.
"The first thing we tell [dealers] is we don't buy stolen material," says manager Emilio Zamora. "I believe every scrap metal company is different, but we follow the rules around here. We go strictly by the book because we've got a lot to lose."
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