Hello Scrappers,
I've been interested in scrapping, garbage picking, reuse, and the environment for a long time now and in the last couple of years I've started to dabble in scrap. First aluminium cans, now copper wire. Like the forum and thought I'd send some props! Copper is a really attractive-looking metal and I like prices over 3$!
I live in a large, suburban area near Toronto and I find the pickings fairly good with competition moderate only. I use a bike and I go out between 8.00 and 11.00 pm and visit various residential areas looking for wire. Started last September, (I'm a full time student), and have never once gone home empty handed! Though lately the rainy weather has held me back a bit. Gotten oven cables, all manner of wire off of TVs, a bug zapper, VCRs, DVD players, computer stuff, also some aluminium scrap and solid copper pieces.
A bike cannot cover the distance a truck would but there are no expenses and I figure a guy in a motor vehicle might miss some items I see and I am perfecting my knowledge of shortcuts and productive areas. Also, being on a bike is unobtrusive, quiet, non-threatening and gives me serious exercise. It forces me also not to pick up oversized, half-busted shyte that is just gonna clutter my life. What I'm after is copper wire and I can put a lot of that in a shoulder bag. I also carry a nice set of Klein linesman's pliers which go through all cables including 220 service oven cables. Vacuum cables are nice and long but more work to strip - I'm learning all these little ins and outs.
I'm enjoying an industrious feeling, scoping out neighbourhoods, scoring copper. Canadians are relatively affluent people in global terms and we produce a lot of waste!!!
I'll cash in when I hit 100lbs. Just under half way there. No accidents, police trouble or hostile encounters so far. If I spot useable toys or bikes I ride home and fire the boilers in my mighty Ford Taurus and retrieve the item for charity use. So far I've gotten a couple of bikes, one was a pink Giant Taffy girls bike worth 230$ according to their website! A couple of riding toys, a neat plastic boat, and a wooden horse. A lot of times at night it is dead quiet and so I see a lot of critters - rabbits, fox, cats, a deer one time. Got some nice copper this weekend as it is Victoria Day long weekend here. A national holiday on which many people clean out garages, basements, attics or open cottages, clean yards up etc. Going out in about an hour to see the pickin's!
Anyway, I'm thinking if I had a little capital I'd bump up the nature of the operation. I'd like to get a small high mileage car Aveo/Yaris/Echo/Smart Car and put a bike rack on it. I'd use the car to hop between neighbourhoods, park it, search side streets for wire and then hop to the next area. I figure the more gas you burn the lower your profit - gas is a precious commodity in its own right, just like copper, so reduce what you burn if you can.
Glad to hear any thoughts on this idea, or any others.
Scrap Safe!
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