Scrap Copper Takes A Dive

Refined copper prices have been falling for the last week and it’s looking like Comex will close with copper being lower than when the market opened this morning. And as the price of refined copper falls, so does the price of scrap copper.

We have no idea as to when the price for scrap copper will begin to rise but if history has taught us anything prices usually rise more slowly than they fall. Maybe it’s gravity?

Salvage America Recycles Cork

Just a note to let you know that Salvage America incorporated is now committed to being a drop off location for Greensboro’s only cork recycling company, Smart Cork Recycling. Sadly, the market for recycled cork is still quite small and unable to support payments to those persons who bring their organic cork and man-made cork to Smart Cork for recycling but with if people will get behind it the day will come when the recycling of cork becomes profitable for all.

We also accept rechargeable and non rechargeable batteries of all types and CDs, and DVDs in any condition.

How To Prevent Copper Theft

A word to the wise: those who are watching Comex already know the price of copper is shooting towards the stars. Copper is not yet back up to the record highs of Spring 2008 but some in the industry are predicting the price will soon top the previous record prices. I don’t understand exactly why copper is rising so rapidly but I do know a new wave of copper theft and copper theft rings is beginning to build as the crooks are getting out of prison just in time to see the prices rise. So how do you protect your home or business from copper theft and what could be thousands of dollars worth of damages to your homes and businesses so the crooks can waste a few hundred dollars on illegal drugs?

For starters: nothing is the perfect solution to copper theft but thieves prefer easier targets and will often bypass the tough jobs.

Secure the foundation openings in the crawl space of your house with a good hasp and padlock. Yes, locks can be busted with a hammer but not without making a lot of noise.

Call your local fence contractor and have them build a small chain link enclosure around the outside portions of your heating and cooling system. Or, if you’re handy with simple hand tools you can buy a chain link dog enclosure and do it yourself.

Putting a big dog inside the enclosure wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

A lot of homeowners prefer to hide their HVAC units with bushes, trees and other plantings. Problem is, by hiding your HVAC equipment you are giving cover to the thieves.

You would not believe the number of business owners who store their scrap metals outside of their buildings. Maybe you haven’t room for all your scrap outside but storing scrap copper outside is insane considering the current value of copper. Would you store your Gold outside? Besides, piles of metal on the outside will inform thieves that you’re probably keeping more valuable stuff inside.

Open your eyes and take a look around. If you can see it the thieves will see it too.

For obvious reasons your local electric company or municipal board might not allow you to place a padlock on your electrical box but doing so will slow down the thieves.

Mark your stuff with an engraving tool. No, that won’t stop the thieves but it might be enough to get them convicted before they come back to rob you a second time. There are also paints that remain invisible until placed under a UV light.

It may or may not be cost effective to replace your copper plumbing with plastic but if you’re getting hit repeatedly it’s time to ruin the spoils so the thieves will go elsewhere.

If you're a business who frequently allows people from outside your business to haul away your scrap metals for the cost of the metals, take a look at who is hauling away your scrap. For some of these guys the invitation to haul scrap is an invitation to look around to see what they can steal. We know this from experience.

Electric fences can be a good deterrent but they must be marked as electric fences and can’t be placed where children might come in contact with them.

Our business has sharply reduced our metals theft since we installed our security cameras. You might want to consider the same. And the cameras help out in court as well.

Update: 3 Feb. 10, More info here.

Steel Prices Set To Fall

Word throughout the scrap metal industry is that we are now getting hit with a double whammy as copper and steel prices are falling across the US and the world. How far is anyone’s guess but our advice is to sell now or be prepared to wait for what might be as long as several months.

Digging Out

We’re open today for those few brave souls who dare to brave the snow but don’t think you’re going to sell us a load of snow as we’ve got all we want.

Closed Due To In-climate Weather

Just a note to let you know we will be closed on Saturday, January 30th 2010 due to the forecast of in-climate weather this weekend. We’ll have the snow shoveled away from the scales and will reopen at our regular time on Monday morning.

Sell Your Copper Now!

Have you been paying attention to the price of copper? Well if you haven’t then you’re just now finding out the price of copper has fallen almost $0.15 cents per pound on the wholesale markets in the last 2 days.

Supporting Greensboro Filmmakers

We don’t have a lot to give but we do what we can, like our recent donation of materials to the Greensboro Filmmakers who created Hellphone. And to help them out a little more, here’s a link to a clip from the movie. The password is hell0 and that last letter is a Zero.

And to think, I just got my first cell phone. Scary, ain’t it?

If It Leaks You Don’t Get Paid!

At Salvage America we are happy to buy your scrap metals but we don’t want the liquids they may contain. All tanks, vessels, buckets, hot water heaters, oil tanks, containers, transmissions, torque converters, engines, radiators, appliances and any other liquid filled items must be drained before you bring them to Salvage America, otherwise you will not be paid for the materials you bring to us.

After all, why should we pay you to risk getting fined tens of thousands of dollars by the State and Federal governments?

Haitian Earthquake’s Effect On World Steel Prices

While the earthquakes that toppled much of the island nation of Haiti will require a lot of steel to rebuild, one has to wonder if it will be enough to influence world markets in the long term. Because Haiti’s economic situation was bad even in the best of times, very little steel was used in construction. And because Haiti’s economic situation is now worse than it was there probably won’t be enough steel used in reconstruction to make Haiti’s homes safer or generate any real upward movement in the price of steel.


That said, when the world gets a look at the devastation brought about by the quakes, building regulators in wealthier countries might start requiring more steel and other quake resistant materials to be used in commercial and residential construction so that the next earthquake, no matter where in the world it happens to take place, isn’t quite as devastating.