Copper recycling can be a good thing coming out of old air conditioning or plumbing during replacement. Copper is a non-renewable resource, and apparently recycled copper is worth nearly as much as new copper.
However, it has become a problem now that thieves steal from irrigations systems or air conditioners that are currently in use, resulting in ruin of the systems. It seems as though nearly every community in the state is affected in one way or another. Copper thievery has become a regular occurrence.
Recycling is a good thing, and we’d dislike reducing that.
But, there has to be a way to discourage thievery.
Perhaps only allowing a minimal price per pound would be a good alternative so that it becomes less attractive to steal or maybe no money at all.
One recycling center in Colorado requires that the truck load of recycled items be photographed and logged. Good idea. Perhaps adding a picture of the license plates, driver, and driver’s license of the driver would also slow some of this thievery. With today’s digital cameras, this would only take minutes.
Perhaps requiring a notarized receipt from the originating sources would also help stop this kind of thing.
While this would indeed decrease the amount of copper recycled, it would only be aggravating to those who have never had thousands of dollars of damage done to their possessions. Surely this problem affects insurance rates for everyone.
Many recycle simply because of concern for the environment and the future of our children. They would recycle despite the disincentives.
It is always better to be proactive instead of reactive, and trying to prevent the thievery seems like an easier concept than spending a lot of tax payer dollars trying to catch them.
Those that work in the industry would undoubtedly have some great ideas on reducing this problem.
Karen La Pierre