Got metal? Sell it to C&D

One person's junks is another man's treasure and this saying holds true to practically everything, even scrap metal. But, instead of going to a garage sale down the neighborhood, some folks have taken to stealing scrap metal, especially copper since the price has been on the rise. While some scrap folks are a little shady, C&D Scrap Metal Recyclers upholds the law.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

Click here to listen to the interview:

Got metal? Sell it to C&D

---

TRANSCRIPT

PAMELA: One person's junks is another man's treasure and this saying holds true to practically everything, even scrap metal.

CHARLIE: But, instead of going to a garage sale down the neighborhood, some folks have taken to stealing scrap metal, especially copper since the price has been on the rise. While some scrap folks are a little shady, C&D Scrap Metal Recyclers upholds the law, including catching the copper thieves. Dennis joins us this morning to tell us more. Good morning, Dennis.

DENNIS: Good morning to you.

CHARLIE: Let's start from the beginning. Why are copper prices on the rise right now?

DENNIS: I've got 42 years in this industry and C&D Scrap's been in business for 32 years and I honestly can't tell you why they are. The economy is in the condition it's in and the prices of nickel, copper, aluminum, nickel alloy, stainless steel are the highest they have ever been in my industry that I've ever seen.

CHARLIE: It's almost like a demand curve driving this.

DENNIS: I don't get it. I do know that when the prices go up like this there's either a demand or there's just not a lot of production. The factory's are going on and they are just trying to keep the wheel's turning and get the metals in there for the future.

CHARLIE: Is that why we're seeing so much thievery going on right now? Especially with copper? Is it just because it's worth more?

DENNIS: I think it has a lot to do with it. Copper hit a $4.64 comex high for the first time ever. People see those prices rise and when you see prices rise then you are going to see the crime going up even more.

CHARLIE: Sure. That may happen in some places but you take some steps to keep that from happening at your place.

DENNIS: We do. We have a very serious process in order to sell recyclable metals at C&D. When you pull into our yard here, our requirements are a driver's license, a copy of it, the make, model and color of your vehicle, your license plate number, we need your fingerprint, we take a photograph of each item that you are selling us, who collected the money, who paid you the money and then you sign the receipt that you are the rightful owner of the material that you are selling us.

CHARLIE: Do you share that information with HPD right off the bat?

DENNIS: It goes to an Internet site that we have to give to HPD but it's pretty much to every law enforcement agency.

CHARLIE: Do you think that helps?

DENNIS: I do. I know that we've been broken into so many times over the last 30 years. It's rampant at times. It does help. Is it ever going to stop? No, there's never going to be enough police officers out there to stop it. We're not police officers. We do what we have to do. We have 24 hour/7 day security here with HPD, Harris County Deputies, some constables that work here. We're doing our utmost and if someone wants to sell us metal and it doesn't belong to them and it definitely looks obvious, we're not going to buy it. If they are selling it and we don’t know that it's stolen, whatever they do sell us, we're going to have it all documented and they are going to probably most likely be caught.

CHARLIE: I guess as long as there are people who are willing to buy it, they'll be people willing to steal it.

DENNIS: There's a lot of people in this industry that don't follow these guidelines. Like I say, we've been here 32 years. When I opened  my company there were 15-18 scrap yards in Houston and surrounding areas. Now there are in excess of 120 scrap yards in the fourth largest city in the US. We've been around long enough and everyone in this city knows that we pay in $2 bills. We're well known and we always get a bad rap. We just want folks to realize that we're not the ones trying to get the bad rap. We're doing our part and we're trying to keep those people that are out there stealing to let them know that if they do it and they are not doing it the right way, they will be getting in trouble for it.

PAMELA: Do you have extra scrap metal on your hands? Then trust the top quality service at C&D Scrap Metal Recyclers. To find out more, visit their website at CDscrapmetal.com. Dennis, thank you for talking to us today.

Dennis: Thank you very much folks. Have a nice day.