copper wire scrap

[Harry K]

I found that my barrel of copper wire scrap that I salvaged over 20 years of demolishing and rehabbing buildings is worthless. Scrap dealers won't take it.

Reason? I burned the insulation off back when burn barrels were legal.

A bit of poking around found that there seems to be two reasons. Burning insulation is banned and a big fine if caught and the dope heads do it that way.

I couldn't discover if there is an actual law against accepting it or just a general agreement not to accept. Anyone know or have a link to such?

Harry K

[Retired]

Here is a link to a story out of Georgia. It appears that it is mostly state and/or county laws (probably based on EPA recommendations)

Here is a link to a Texas county's regulation

"the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the violation involves the burning of a tire or of insulation on copper wire.

Class A Misdemeanor. An individual adjudged guilty of a Class A misdemeanor shall be punished by:

1. a fine not to exceed ,000; 2. confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year; or both such fine and confinement."

[philoÂÂ]

I don't know where you live...but in some locations , not only can a junk yard not take such copper, they are also required to report you...so you got off easy.

Of course, the copper is worth a lot of money and it seems a shame to waste it. Possibly you could dump it all out and let the rain and the elements clean off the soot. In a few years it may be OK?

[Stormin Mormon]

Pressure washer, maybe? Clean it up, some. Sorry to hear that you got affected by a "well meaning" law.

[trader4]

rs of demolishing and rehabbing buildings is worthless. Scrap dealers won' t take it.

ng insulation is banned and a big fine if caught and the dope heads do it t hat way.

ust a general agreement not to accept. Anyone know or have a link to such?

I would think it's rather unlikely that rain is going to change it enough so that it's no longer obvious it's not burned wire. And what happens if next time they not only won't take it, but rat him out to the cops?

What a strange world we live in...... It's like they're pointing you in the direction of illegally dumping it in the woods. Or you could wait until they have some amnesty program. Heh, maybe even a buyback program like they do with guns.....

[philoÂÂ]

On 01/29/2014 07:09 AM, [e-mail] wrote: X

Between the rain and the sun, the "burning evidence" will eventually disappear...but how many years it would take...I don't know,

>

[Harry K]

Yes, I know such laws exist. I was just curious if there is a law specifically prohibiting the scrap yards from buying such scrap.

Harry K

[willshak]

I don't know if there is such a product that will remove the "evidence", but what to the recycling plants use? Tried WD-40??? :-)

Oh, wait! Muriatic acid?

[gfretwell]

That acid would eat the wire and just leave the soot.

Melt it down and skim off the slag but I doubt you would do all of that for a bucket of wire.

[dpb]

On 1/28/2014 11:43 PM, Harry K wrote: ...

...

Depends entirely on the jurisdiction in which you're trying to make the sale. If the dealers can't provide exact statute/ordinance reference (and I'd bet they can since they have to live with it), contact both local government entity first. In most cases localities have the most onerous requirements to deter the thieves beyond state and fed requirements. I don't, however, believe you'll find anything at the EPA or State level that has any such language on the basis of the burning-off as the actual limitation.

[dpb]

That's on the scrap left of course, not the actual burning that undoubtedly is illegal now everywhere in open air. The problem comes in that there's no way to prove _when_ it was burned, probably.

You might poke around in archives of rec.metalworking--seems to me there's been discussion there on some home-brew wire insulation strippers.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of amount are we talking here? 20-lb or several hundred or even thousand? 20 yr is a long time to accumulate but if it's only 6' now and then and it's all in a barrel doesn't sound like so much that some occasional hand labor on off-peak times might be out of the question...

[gfretwell]

The loophole in this process is the consolidator who pays about half the going rate to anyone who brings them anything. They sort it, crush it into a brick that can't be identified as anything stolen and sell it to a registered scrap dealer. They would take this burned wire, put it in the middle of some clean wire, compact it and sell it. The smelter would not care.

[Stormin Mormon]

How many folks can get hot enough to melt copper? Not me!

[clare]

They will accept salvaged copper from cleanup after a fire, no problem, so why not from your ancient burn barrel?? I would lay it out on a driveway and have at it with a pressure washer, then bundle up the cleaned copper into "logs" about 4 inches by a foot long , and haul it off to my local recycler - I know my local recycler would take it and at close to the top price.

[Terry Coombs]

I can . Especially if I alloy it with aluminum or zinc .

[clare]

Take it in with a sworn afidavit that the copper has been in storage in this condition for "X" years. If it was burnrd before it was illegal, there is no violation.

[krw]

What's it worth if it's polluted?

[clare]

Up here (ontario Canada) scrapyards and pawnshops run under the same basic rules. Photo ID is required and you need to give a plausible reason for both having and disposing od the items.

[Stormin Mormon]

Hey! OP! Give Snag a call. He can help.

[Harry K]

Dunno how much it weighs but I had to move the barrel and couldn't even tip it on edge to roll. It is the residue of two houses and a schoolhouse. Last burn would have been in the early 80s.

Due to the liability I don't think I will be talking to any more scrap yards unless I find a way to clean it :)

Harry K