Razor wire surrounds some of the metal recycling yards on Fillmore Avenue in Buffalo. It's a sign of how competitive the scrap metal business is these days. What many of us consider junk is actually treasure to others, and some people are willing to break the law to get their hands on it.
There are plenty of law-abiding scrap metal recyclers among those pushing their carts along the city streets. These individuals gather up what others are throwing out and turn it in for cash. In the scrap medal industry they're called "peddlers".
"All my life I've collected junk," says John Dettweiler of Buffalo who fits the "peddler" description. Every couple of months he brings a load a scraps to Metalico on Fillmore Avenue. "I'm hoping to get about 80 bucks out of this load," says Dettweiler who's unloading his pickup truck filled with old motors and various pieces of metal. Dettweiler's in for a surprise though. His copper alone is worth more than $80 since copper prices have gone from 81 cents a pound five years ago to $2.65 a pound today. With the other metals Dettweiler has his total payout turns out to be more than double what he'd hoped for -- $174.
Those kind of prices are inspiring new peddlers -- some who don't like to discuss their collection methods. 7 News found a man pushing a cart full of stuff down a Buffalo street and he chose to walked away from his cart and leave it in the street rather than talk to us about it.
Vacant houses in Buffalo are often broken into and stripped of anything metal, and scrap yards are hiring extra security. "People steal out of our piles then try to sell to us or our competitors the next day," says George Ostendorf, General Manager at Metalico Buffalo.
A new state law now in effect is designed to deter thieves. It requires anyone selling a load worth more than $50 to have their picture ID scanned into a database. That information is shared with police. "We work with local law enforcement every single day," says Ostendorf.
At Metalico, once they purchase a load it's sorted and processed. "We package it, grade it, bale it, cut it, anything to get it ready to go to a mill where it can be re-melted to make new scrap metal, to make new prime metal," says Ostendorf.
Much of the new metal will end up in China, and global demand is the reason peddlers are able to cash in here in Western New York. "With China and India demanding so much increased metal for their infrastructure we see the prices being buoyed quite a bit now," says Ostendorf, "So I don't see commodities going down anytime in the near future."
Some items you might have that could be worth money as scrap metal include old air conditioners, lawn mowers, golf clubs, lawn chairs, stoves, refrigerators, plumbing hardware, and tools. Almost anything made of metal is worth something now.
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