Recycling Metal Scraps for Money
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BLUETOWN – Piles of scrap metal are ending up in one Bluetown farmer’s field and he said he wants it to stop.
Robert Martinez said the pieces of scrap metal make it difficult for him to do his job.
“They just bent it and left it there,” he said.
Martinez said he first came across the pile of scrap while mowing around his field.
“When I went into the ditch, I went into the metal and have you ever seen something get hit by one of those metals,” he said.
The metal tore up his mower. He said he’s used to coming across trash but nothing like the metal.
According to a local scrap yard, people can turn in scrap metal and receive money.
“Anywhere from a $1 to several hundred dollars,” Ben Gonzalez, owner of Weslaco Scrap Metal, said.
He said there’s no point in just tossing metal when people can get paid to recycle it.
“Whether it’s metal, aluminum, brass, copper, whatever it is, it doesn’t belong in to the water. It doesn’t belong in ditches, it belongs being recycled,” Gonzalez said.
Lately the owner said he’s been hearing similar cases to Martinez’s. He said he feels it’s due to the cost of metal dropping over the years.
“It’s not so high, so customers these days don’t make the trip out to their local scrap yards,” Gonzalez said.
He said some money is better than none. What people get for their scraps depends on the type, condition and how much they give them. The catch with most scrap yards is people can only give them metal.
“If a rim comes with a tire we cannot purchase that rim with the tire. It’s got to be just the aluminum or the metal itself,” Gonzalez explained.
The metal is broken down and then sent to various companies across the world.
Martinez said he wouldn’t mind turning in the scraps of metal for a few extra dollars.
Illegal dumping is against the law and can land people with a hefty find depending on how much is left. Clearing the sites costs counties and cities thousands each year.
Anyone needing to report illegal dumping, they’re urged to contact their local constables.
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