Shortly after the Great Recession, copper prices surged, and the metal became a target of theft — a lot of theft, so much that it was considered an epidemic. Crooks stripped copper from whatever they could find so they could bring the copper to a scrap yard or recycling center to get cash in return. A few years later, in 2020, copper theft is still a problem for two simple reasons. As a business owner who may have scrap copper available, you can take steps to prevent theft so that any metal you plan to recycle stays right where you put it until you take it to the recyclers yourself.

It's Easy to Find and Take

Copper is still very easy to find and take. Not only is it still used in most electronic and electrical applications, but many of these applications aren't well-guarded. Sometimes this is unavoidable because there's only so much you can do to close off access to the back of your window air conditioning unit. But in many cases, the copper could be guarded more closely and yet it isn't.

Businesses that store copper for use in projects have to lock it up. Even if the copper will be used tomorrow, keep supplies locked away. If you run a business that deals with a lot of copper, keep it indoors in a section where only a few trusted employees have access (to avoid inside theft jobs). When you can keep that copper secure, your projects and scrap recycling plans won't need to change.

Prices Are Still Good — and the Economy Still Fragile

Another reason why copper theft is still a problem is that prices are still relatively decent, and the economy is fragile enough (and it was that way, even before the pandemic) that copper theft still looks like a very attractive way to make some fast cash. The economic forecast for late in 2020 is that copper prices will once again surge, too. Nothing is guaranteed, but the anticipated higher prices mean that if you have copper that you want to use or recycle, you need to take steps to guard it.

Scrap yards and recycling yards are also doing what they can to spot stolen copper, so if you suddenly find a bunch missing, file a police report and notify nearby yards. There are also online resources you can use to report stolen metal so that yards farther away know what to look for. Many yards also use fingerprinting and record-keeping, as well as looking for suspicious signs like new sellers bringing in a lot of copper, to find thieves.

If you're planning to recycle some copper, guard it — and then call the yard you plan to take it to and find out what identification you'll need to successfully sell the metal for recycling. Recycling metal is easy in general, and the yard will make sure you and other legitimate sellers will be able to get cash quickly.

For more information about metal recycling, visit a website like http://www.sunwestmetals.com.