Metal Theft Tied To Asia

The New York Times has finally noticed the massive increase in metal theft around the world, which has usually been linked to the high market prices for industrial metals, so they asked an economist about it. Ted Siegler, a recyclables analyst, said that it's not just metal prices that have gone up, but recycled material in general, which comes from a huge demand from Asian developing countries.

Bundled paper or cardboard, the most commonly stolen of New York’s recyclables, can bring in $90 to $120 a ton, more than double what the city receives under long-term contracts with its own brokers and processors.

That means someone can quickly fill a van in Manhattan, drive to Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx, and sell the loot to one of several brokers. After that, most of the paper and metal ends up in China, Vietnam, India and other developing nations where demand for recyclables has soared.

“There has always been a fair amount of scavenging in the U.S., but the increase in demand from abroad has been dramatic,” said Ted Siegler, an economist and consultant based in Vermont who has analyzed recycling around the world.

He said a piece of scrap metal taken from a Manhattan curb might end up in a steel mill furnace in Asia.

Mr. Siegler said the theft of recyclables had been increasing across the country, with thieves even plucking steel manhole covers from streets.

According to the article, even cardboard is fetching twice the price from overseas than what a large city like New York City pays out for its recycling program. As with most municipalities across the nation, New York is going after the recyclers and brokers, treating them as fences who receive stolen goods. But even with the crackdown on theft, the metal and cardboard has to come from somewhere to keep with Asian development. There has to be a way a smart company, or even smart trade policy, can take advantage of that, without resorting to "plucking manhole covers from the streets."