Whats in it for scrappers?

[wavinwayne]

I'm not sure how the economics of scrapping works, I just know if I put anything with metal in it at the curb, it magically disappears and that makes me happy. I even had a guy stop and cut up a mattress I had put on the curb, so he could get the metal coil springs.

 

[Kira]

So, I know a guy if I ever need one.

"We all" had a guy in nearby Hackensack; Cinelli Recycling. They're gone now.
I can say the name as their fraud conviction included power companies and other entities.
Their city block was cleaned up within a week and a building is going up.

 

[opus1]

They still exist where I live, apparently. Place anything metal out by the curb and it'll be gone by sunset, usually much sooner.

I've may have been wrong all along about brake rotors..... I thought they were kind of a really-low-priced steel? Regardless, I still get rid of them by putting them out by the curb.

Same with me. One time I put out a lawn mower that was well past its prime, went in the house for about 15 minutes, and came out to find that a scrapper already got it.

 

[walterjay]

Steel is not worth scrapping around here. Only brass and copper.

 

[Nmr1981]

DoorDash drivers are delivering meals for $2, picking up scrap worth $4 sounds more lucrative. We live in an economy with a lot of desperate folks.

Don’t tell my 9 year old son that. I made the mistake of mentioning the circuit boards have valuable metals in them. He is now on a quest to save up enough e scrap to buy himself a 3D printer. So we took apart our old desktop, my mom found an old fax machine and other small electronics for him to take apart. We have a small bankers box filled with circuit boards. He loves science and taking things apart, he has his dedicated screwdrivers for the dismantling.

 

[The motor guy]

Don’t tell my 9 year old son that. I made the mistake of mentioning the circuit boards have valuable metals in them. He is now on a quest to save up enough e scrap to buy himself a 3D printer. So we took apart our old desktop, my mom found an old fax machine and other small electronics for him to take apart. We have a small bankers box filled with circuit boards. He loves science and taking things apart, he has his dedicated screwdrivers for the dismantling.

Nobody dorordashes in a pickup though

 

[KMFDM]

With a lot of new homes and developments in my area within last 10 yrs, traffic on our street has increased. No matter what you put out it is usually gone in 24 hrs

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I never understood how scrappers make money.

 

[PandaBear]

I suspect scrapper made money by getting only valuable stuff like those soda cans with CRV deposits, or copper. It is competing with the commercial scale scrap of an entire car or industrial production like stamping scrap, so those done by individual collectors on a beat up pickup truck likely won't make much these days.

Also China was sort of in a downturn for a couple years now and trade war is going on, there is not much demand like years ago.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I never understood how scrappers make money.

Some are druggies, some can't hold or don't want to hold a job that requires regular attendance, the tradeoff is lower pay but at your own pace. Homeless and beggars have the same economics I'd say.

Scrappers are the rocket scientists of this world because they actually go out there and do most of the work. Some of them will even rip copper wires out of live light poles or cut copper condensers out of functioning ac systems. If you ever go to the hood, you'll see cages on top of roofs to protect HVAC equipment from scrappers.

 

[FoxProTwisty]

Copper has been around an all time high of $5/lb for the past 3 yrs. It's called Dr Copper for a reason and not because it's worth scrap, because it knows ahead of time the ills of a speculative world economy.

Scrap iron is usually $.30-50 per ton. Breakage aluminum can be $.75/lb. I forget what they pay for brass but it's also not worthless.

So if you have a whole truck full it adds up quickly.

 

[Lubener]

What's a brake rotor worth?

Many years back, they gave me somewhere between $3-5 dollars each which surprised me. They separated the rotors from everything else.. I had six and that made me happy. I had a truck full of metal including a riding mower at the time.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

A lot of scrappers, no majority are on the lower rungs of socioeconomic ladders. Most have drug and alcohol problems and cant hold down a job for legal or personal reasons.
Guys dodging child support garnishment, welfare, disability. Cant have a real W-2 job with that.

 

[Dave Hess]

When I worked at a supermarket, people would steal the wooden pallets and bales of compressed cardboard in back of the store.

Everything has some kind of value.

 

[PandaBear]

When I worked at a supermarket, people would steal the wooden pallets and bales of compressed cardboard in back of the store.

Everything has some kind of value.

Minus the transportation cost.

The problem is today's transportation is quite expensive because of labor cost, insurance, fuel, etc.

 

[The motor guy]

Minus the transportation cost.

The problem is today's transportation is quite expensive because of labor cost, insurance, fuel, etc.

Exactly. It's gonna cost $3 just to make a 5 mile round trip down the street

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Minus the transportation cost.

The problem is today's transportation is quite expensive because of labor cost, insurance, fuel, etc.

Not if you roll around with no DL or insurance.

 

[The motor guy]

I think they would be better off rolling around the rich neighborhoods on trash day and collecting old grills and other semi nice stuff these people throw away. I'm staring at a perfectly good hose reel with wheels right now that someone has at the curb.