Why are there so few escrap buying yards in my area?

A couple of days ago I asked people if they knew of any escrap buying yards in my area. Got no replies which I assume means there are few such yards here.



So this is a question to those who know a lot about scrapping business. Why is it that in such a large metro area (I live near Wash DC) with a lot of electronic and computer equipment being disposed of by the Feds, the local governments, local businesses and so on, there is such a shortage of scrap yards that buy escrap, at least from a "regular Joe from the street" like myself? Some sort of EPA regulations to blame? Taxes too high? Some other factors?

I am not planning to open a yard myself, I just want to understand the scrapping market a bit better.