There have been quite a few changes here in the states over the last few decades. Things that traditionally used lead have been gradually phased out in favor of something else that doesn't have lead in it. Different examples:
1: Paint. We phased out lead based paint quite awhile ago.
2: Bubble back TV's and CRT's. They had quite a bit of lead in them but we've pretty much gone to flat screens now.
3: Plumbing solder. The plumbers use 95/5 lead free solder nowadays.
4: Electronics solder. Lead solder was phased out twenty years ago.
5: Plumbing brass like valves, fittings and water meters. They're being taken out of service at a phenomenal pace and going off to the scrap yard. Being replaced with plastics and lead free alloys these days.
6: Bullets. Shotgun shot to be particular. It's illegal to hunt or skeet shoot with anything but steel shot in many places these days.
7: Lead water pipes are no more. Even copper water pipes are being phased out in favor of PEX.
8: Lead flashing for buildings. It's still available to buy but most contractors use sheet aluminum or copper on the high end jobs.
9: Ship ballast. Lead is rarely used now.
As scrappers ... we see lead and lead alloys like brass coming out of service at end of life. The thing we don't often see is that it's been replaced with something else that doesn't have lead in it.
Long term prospects for recycled lead aren't good if there's so much less demand for it. Same with brass and even copper to some degree. Less demand will probably translate to lower prices for us at the scrapyard over the long haul.
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