Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2007 » Cracking down on scrappers « Previous Next »
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Huggybear
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Username: Huggybear

Post Number: 279
Registered: 08-2005
Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 10:04 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I found this approach interesting.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news /oregonian/index.ssf?/base/new s/1169193355137390.xml&coll=7
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Gannon
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Username: Gannon

Post Number: 7948
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 10:37 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Taking cash out of the equation seems the easiest one to implement...but those who bring in this stuff in OUR city should be immediately enrolled in school or some useful government jobs program.

Dawned on me yesterday, they say that Americans are unwilling to do menial tasks for money. That obviously is untrue, or these scrappers wouldn't exist. Cannot be much more menial a work than disassembling a rustbelt city one scrap at a time.
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Detroitplanner
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Username: Detroitplanner

Post Number: 831
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 12:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I would agree with the article that drug addicts will do just about anything to get a fix. Look at how dangerous it must be for the street hooker, yet she is out there anyway risking her life or health just to get some money for her next fix. Its sad. There should be more educational programs put on by religious, health departments, or liberal do-gooders.
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Charlottepaul
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Username: Charlottepaul

Post Number: 296
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 1:33 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

scrappers anonymous?
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220hendrie1910
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Username: 220hendrie1910

Post Number: 60
Registered: 02-2006
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 6:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I suggest a 12-step program. Since metal steps are out of the question, shall we make it a gangplank?

Feelin' scrappy in Ottawa.
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Beavis1981
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Username: Beavis1981

Post Number: 86
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 6:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

crappy life=no hope=drugs=blight and scrapping. This is just a symptom of a much bigger problem. We could blame china for following in our example of waste and excess. At 2-4 dollars a pound for copper this isn't stopping anytime soon. At those prices the lee plaza paid for one hell of a crack party!
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Reetz12
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Username: Reetz12

Post Number: 125
Registered: 09-2005
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 6:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lets start a city program that will pay for all sorts of debris.....$0.20 a lb for wood $0.35 a lb for garbage bags, $0.75 each tire....and so forth. Then maybe we could get the city cleaned up in no time!
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 4604
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 6:42 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

OH GREAT! Give scrappers a new source of income.
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Jimaz
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Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 1404
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 7:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Perhaps scrappers can someday perform a useful public service by ridding us of all our pesky pennies.

From Wikipedia, Cent (United States coin):
quote:

The cent's composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent. Some 1982 cents use the 97.6% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition. The price of copper later returned to profitable levels.

As of November 2, 2006, the price of copper is $3.31 per pound and zinc is $1.93 per pound. At these prices, the pre-1982 copper cent contains 2.224 cents worth of copper, which makes them an attractive target for melting by people wanting to sell the metal at a profit. However, the United States Mint, in anticipation of this practice, implemented new regulations[1] on December 14, 2006 which criminalizes the melting of pennies and nickels. Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for a maximum of five years.

Presumably with the rapid rise in price for zinc, the US Mint will have to find another alternative. The scrap zinc in a post-1982 cent is worth 1.1 cents. With the costs of manufacturing and distribution, the net cost to produce one cent is about 1.4 cents, significantly higher than the face value of the coin.

Curious trivia:
quote:

People with young ears can hear the difference between the bronze and copper pennies and the newer, zinc pennies: simply "flip" the coin, giving it a good, solid strike. The predominantly copper pennies produce a "ringing" sound in the 12 kHz range. The zinc coins do not ring.

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Beavis1981
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Username: Beavis1981

Post Number: 87
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 10:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

reetz- The sad part is that would work! You could pay a couple bucks a yard and the crackheads will be all over it.
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Jams
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Username: Jams

Post Number: 4618
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 11:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

...and stripping every clapboard house they could get a prybar under.
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Jjaba
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Username: Jjaba

Post Number: 4770
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 4:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Your US penny is no good if it doesn't have Abe Lincoln on front and back. Look on the back of a newer penny with a magnifier. There he is, the Emcancipator hisse'f, sitting in the chair at Lincoln Memorial.

Demand only the authentic in your change.

jjaba, Westsider pitching pennies.
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1526
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2007 - 11:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

There's a story coming up on the 11pm Channel 4 News in a few minutes about an undercover report they're doing on metal theft in Detroit... (just saw a teaser)
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 2311
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:01 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Paul Harvey on WJR today had a bit about scrappers stealing railroad tracks for a decent return. So now we will have to deal with another breed of domestic terrorists causing railroad disrailments where scrappers steal or dislodge the tracks.

I can visualize Detroit's commuter-rail prospects grind to a halt after various unguarded sections of track disappear overnight...
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Gannon
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Username: Gannon

Post Number: 8210
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

PUN ALERT!
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 2998
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

not all scrapping is bad; I like the fact that, at least in SWD, one can put an old appliance or pile of metal on the curb and there are folks driving around who pick it all up, toss it in their truck and haul it away...Some would refer to that as "recycling".
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Gravitymachine
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Username: Gravitymachine

Post Number: 1493
Registered: 05-2005
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:29 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

i thought the same thing barnfesto when i put my old broken window A/C unit on the curb. But the bastard gutted all of the visible copper out of it on the spot (didn't touch the electric motor though, must've been amatures) , leaving me the carcass to take care of.

in short, I am not wholy satisified with their service.

(Message edited by gravitymachine on February 02, 2007)
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Southwestmap
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Username: Southwestmap

Post Number: 686
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Barnes and Gravity: be careful about dumping those old appliances. You may be dumping a treasure. Go here for a surprise:
http://www.antiqueappliances.c om/products/hotpoint/1953_hotp oint_two_door_refrigerator.htm

I refer to this because I just bought a one-door Hotpoint from 1950 in fine condition for $30.
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 2314
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:49 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That Hotpoint would be a terrible unit from an energy standpoint, though. But in the winter, it helps keep the kitchen warm. Gas heat is about two or three times cheaper on a BTU basis.
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Southwestmap
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Username: Southwestmap

Post Number: 687
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 12:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The restorers say that a refurbished motor will make it much more efficient. I read that it should run 10 minutes out of every hour.
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 2316
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 1:03 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Its insulation is very sub par. Also, the "technology" is very old. My parents bought their first "refrigerator" (a Sears Coldspot) during WWII, but because of rationing, it was equipped with an "ice box" freezer. In 1947, a Sears tech came to the house and finally installed the motor and compressor, etc. that was supposed to come with it originally. The state of the art for refrigeration in 1950 was quite different than today's.

Even back during the 1930s, hundreds of laborers would descend on Madison's Lake Mendota (~10,000 acres) and literally saw hundreds of thousands of huge ice blocks for ice (for bars and such) and send them to as far away as St. Louis in the summer from ice sheds in town using sawdust for insulation.
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Southwestmap
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Username: Southwestmap

Post Number: 689
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 1:13 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I understand about the insulation. I don't plan to use it much - just as a retro beer refrigerator during parties at a cottage.

Your note about ice harvesting is interesting. There is a website about the topic that includes plans for some early icehouses on baronial english estates.
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Livernoisyard
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Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 2318
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 1:18 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Even ice fishing. I got my bag limit of ice several times while fishing.

But, that's easy. I'm half Polish...
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Gannon
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Username: Gannon

Post Number: 8218
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 2:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

My brother-in-law-in-law in Grosse Point Farms or Village or whatever found rebuilt appliances for his restored nineteen-thirty-something kitchen.

They really add class to a functional early-twentieth century appearing kitchen.

He's my hero for putting in all this effort and cost for his vision...gorgeous work for a perfect lifestyle for him and my brother-in-law's amazing sister.
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Brandon48202
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Username: Brandon48202

Post Number: 143
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 4:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hawaii law enforcement is cracking down on scrappers by using sting operations to catch the people at the scrap yards who are buying the stuff:

http://starbulletin.com/2007/0 2/23/news/story01.html

They are also talking about a 45 day waiting period to get paid for selling scrap metal to the scrap yards.
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Diehard
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Username: Diehard

Post Number: 24
Registered: 03-2005
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 6:56 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I agree with Brandon. Going after the scrapyards that are buying metal they know is stolen would be very effective. I mean, they buy historic marker plaques and manhole covers! How could anyone believe those aren't stolen?
The waiting period to get paid is a darn good idea too.
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Detroitplanner
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Username: Detroitplanner

Post Number: 1011
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 7:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

the waiting period would slow down the crackheads.

by going after those who profit, makes a lot of sense.
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Superduperman
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Username: Superduperman

Post Number: 218
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 9:59 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

It would be nice if we could somehow use the scrappers for good,like if a building was vacant and the city owned it and was condemed,we could actually let the scrappers strip the building but under certain conditions. Like if it was adjacent to a lot that had trash or the building it self had a lot of garbage they would have to agree to clean up the building and or lot. I noticed a lot of buildings that have been stripped look as though they were hit by locust or something......now if only there was some way to recycle brick........

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