Scrap metal-Markets and the environment

[Spock]

As with many commodities-the price for scrap metal has gone up-it was really high this spring-dropped off some recently.

I am on the road a lot and I would see many loads of scrap heading to the yards.

I have commented-a lot of junk is being cleaned up for the first time since WW2. The lines at the junk yards this spring were unbelievable.

We just loaded a bunch of old scrap metal from the woods today. We have done a few loads over the last few months-Dad has always had a hard time getting rid of old junk-but the high price (and we have less need for old iron) induced him to sell.

We drove by a junk yard in Montana and the old combines were piled high.

Columns in regional farm papers described how old junk cars on the SD Reservations were being cleaned up.

Down side of course is the theft of metal.

I was just thinking how economic/environmental research into this could be fertile fields for PHD's and so forth-The free market impact on environmental cleanups etc-It is a fascinating real world model.

[gsabc]

I recall some post-apocalyptic science fiction story where landfills were being mined for the metals and other still-useful items they contain. No mention of looking out for methane pockets, though.

[Appa23]

From time to time, I am asked to deal with an interesting aspect of the scrap metal "boom".

There are many parcels of land in the United States that used to be owned by the federal government and operated as bombing ranges. When the ranges were closed, the parcels made their way to local governments and then to private landowners.

In recent years, some of these landowners have rigged up magnets to farm equipment and tried to recover remnants of bombs from their property. Sometimes, they recover unexploded ordnanace.

This becomes an issue because the property usually was given by deed from the United States, with the language that only DoD can recover and dispose of ordnance and remnants. Moreover, the metal technically still remains the property of the United States.

Luckily, we have not had any problems (yet).

[etaoin22]

Ah, I thought we might be heading towards a discussion of the contamination and health problems which arise WHEN you start recycling god knows what from god knows where.

And so it has; I was going to mention the problem of beryllium contamination, but BOOM contamination is more memorable.

[frogman042]

From time to time, I am asked to deal with an interesting aspect of the scrap metal "boom".

There are many parcels of land in the United States that used to be owned by the federal government and operated as bombing ranges. When the ranges were closed, the parcels made their way to local governments and then to private landowners.

In recent years, some of these landowners have rigged up magnets to farm equipment and tried to recover remnants of bombs from their property. Sometimes, they recover unexploded ordnanace.

This becomes an issue because the property usually was given by deed from the United States, with the language that only DoD can recover and dispose of ordnance and remnants. Moreover, the metal technically still remains the property of the United States.

Luckily, we have not had any problems (yet).

Wouldn't there be some local ordinance regarding ordnances?

Sounds like this market may explode sometimes soon.

Talk about your boom and bust cycles.

I don't want to be around when thsi bubble bursts.

One possible side effect might be iron-rich blood.

Will someone make him stop!

---Jay