Recyclers increasingly face transportation issues due to an ongoing labor shortage, particularly for drivers. Job openings often exceed the supply of qualified workers in the waste and recycling industry because laborers take jobs in other industries. A driver shortage has become so acute that the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries…
Mutilated Coin Program to Resume
Recyclers will once again be able to make money by redeeming recovered coins. The U.S. Mint is relaunching its Mutilated Coin Redemption Program after a two-year hiatus. The Mint suspended the program in November 2015 due to counterfeiting fears. Recycling industry officials have since pushed for its return. “The resumption…
Tax Reform May Help Recyclers
Recyclers could benefit from the tax reform bill that has been signed by President Donald Trump. The reforms include a reduction in the corporate tax rate as well as changes in how certain types of income and expenses are handled. Legislators lowered the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from…
Plan Ahead for a Hurricane
Preparing a scrapyard for a hurricane should begin well before the winds start whipping. Creating, reviewing and revising an emergency response plan prior to storm season provides the optimal protection. In planning ahead, you can react sooner and avoid potentially disastrous oversights when a storm threatens. For example, knowing how…
Using Yard Management Reports to Reduce Risk for Scrapyards
Running a scrap metal business requires a lot of your attention. Whether you own the recycling center or manage it, you have to know what is happening anywhere at any time. You have customers to service, sales to make, employees to supervise and laws to follow—just to name a few…
Prepare Your Scrap Yard for 2017
Another year is almost finished. When it comes to scrap yard management, assessing how you fared this year will help you prepare for 2017. Despite a post-election uptick, scrap metal prices largely hampered the recycling industry during 2016. Just the fact that you still open your doors every day means…
Scrapyards Squeeze Spending
If tough times don’t last they certainly linger. A prolonged slump in scrap prices is prompting recycling centers to scale back or sell—and the pressures are likely to continue. The total value of U.S. exports of all scrap commodities to China, whose once voracious appetite for commodities has weakened with…
Texas Scrap Metal Laws Changing
Texas metal recycling entitites (MREs) will soon have to start issuing transaction cards to pay customers by cash or debit card. As of Sept. 1, 2015, Texas scrap yards must comply with the provisions of HB 2187, including the requirement that MREs issue cash transaction cards to their customers. “Unless…
ISRI Devotes Day to Safety
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is urging its members to take a time-out for safety today, following at least 11 workplace deaths and multiple critical injuries since early August. ISRI has declared Oct. 15 to be Safety Stand-Down Day, encouraging members to stop operating for at least one hour on every shift…