Pushin' the Limit

Do all yards allow this or am I carrying this too far? I often sell loads that might include a clothesline iron post with a huge cement chunk attached or a frozen chunk of dirt clinging to a farm implement or that wood post or two attached to woven wire. Then they allow me to sweep off my trailer and leave another 50 lbs of dirt and sticks. Is it only because I bring them rolls and cookies ?

I can't really say for sure myself but I have heard of yards making an estimated deduction on the final wight do to trash.

This yard has an electronic printout but maybe even THAT could be altered. **(Maybe the cookies aren't necessary)

Depends on the yard in my area. Some yards dont even bother to look at your load and the help they have dont care because they just started or are about to quit. The highest paying yard in my area checks loads like a hawk. I brought in desks with some particle board attached and they wanted to deduct my load from $240/ton to $100/ton. Manager told me I would be better off going next door to another yard because he was going to protect his company by not buying loads like that. I took it down the street and they didnt care, but their price was $200/ton.

I've seen some of the 'employee doesn't care' attitude as they let alot of stuff slide but the owner has never complained either. They actually DO pay me the going price and even add another $15 a ton because I'm a regular. I don't want to take advantage of the situation, plus I also give them a few breaks too...i.e. let them mag off some prepared iron without weighing back and settling for unprepared price. Good boys they are !!

I took in a load on Wednesday last week of a fridge and washer. The washer was full of water and frozen solid. The fridge had been left by the squatters that lived in the clean-out I did and it was full of food. I strapped the fridge shut and told them at the yard that it stunk pretty bad. The person running the scale only asked what the load was not what was in it. Came to 660# and got paid 170/T. The guys that helped unload never said a thing about it.

I kinda look at it this way, the yard is paying x amount to get your scrap and they are selling it for amount y. They are making money on the metal you take in. They also get in people that do not sort out their metals and through them all off into shred. I figure that as the yard employees come across these little bits of other metals they throw them aside and get put where they go. So they paid around 7 cents a pound for that and they are selling it for a heck of alot more depending on what it is. So a little trash in a load isn't the end of the world in my opinion. Not saying to 'fluff' your loads with trash but that if you can't get something off of it I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just cleanup what you can.

660 pounds for a fridge and washer seams like a lot! Yea the frozen water in the washer and being in WI may be ok. But the stuff from the fridge, why could you just not dump it with all the other clean out trash?

The stuff in the fridge wasn't exactly in containers. It was spilled everywhere in the fridge and I was not about to bring it home and let if thaw out and have to deal with the smell. There was a few other pieces of metal but not really anything that would take up a-lot of weight. However, if the yard would have told me they wouldn't have accepted it, I would have taken the trash out of it. I know a guy in town here that will take anything that has even a little piece of metal on it in. I seen him throw 2x4's with a few screws and a metal strap on one end into his load for the yard. He will take fridges and smash tv tubes into the fridge and screw it shut. This same guy has been busted here for dumpster diving and takes scrap in under his wife's name since they aren't supposed to take it from him.

Abshere...which yard? you can pm if you want. the two yards I use regularly watch everything really close.

Just reread that.....Don't get me wrong, I have taken in over 10K in tin this year alone. Every load has been clean of trash but that one. I take in quite a bit of small loads as I don't have storage for much. My yard is 5 miles round trip and they see me at least once a week. I just wanted to make sure that everyone understood that I don't add weight to loads or anything. I will pull the plastic off of computer cases, take screws out of bits of plastic, cut electrical tape off of wires that are taped together. I am proud of the fact that my yard doesn't question what I bring it.

I never open a fridge from a clean out that's going to the scrap yard. Do one, and you'll know why.

I think alot of us have yards we go to based on material we have. some yards are more willing to take desk with wooden tops, printers, office chairs with plastic backs, and so forth. they may pay a little less but they may make less with more non metal in the mix. some yards this is considered acceptable. One of the owners will even help unload. every yard has their own standards and as long as you dont feel like your "sneaking" it in you should be alright. I even have had cubicle dividers, called and asked and he says just dont bring them all at once.

big difference between a few and say 50 at once

You make me sad knowing you don't break down your keyboards if you get a good number of them.

The mylar an wire adds up fast with those things. Now stop making me sad, an break down your key boards Burly.

Sirscrapalot - Just say no to keyboards in shred.