Texas City Looks to Tighten Regulations for Scrap Metal Dealers

According to Matt Wallis, an assistant city attorney with the city of Forth Worth, the ordinance would require scrap metal dealers to hold or keep a representative amount of certain types of metal, including copper and brass. Wallis adds that a company would need to hold the material for at least three days before it is either processed or shipped to another location.

While the ordinance, if put into law, would require the roughly 12 scrap metal dealers in the city to tighten their purchasing routines, Wallis says that his office has had regular discussions with several scrap recyclers in the city before the preliminary ordinance was introduced.

There already is a state law that enforces the sale of some types of scrap metal. Wallis notes that a number of Texas cities also have implemented various ordinances that aim to lessen the amount of scrap metal thefts. "We wanted to fill the gaps that we saw with the state (law)," Wallis adds.

While noting that many of the scrap yards in the city are high-tech, one of the most challenging aspects of the proposed ordinance is the requirement to keep records of all the sales of certain materials so police could check on any loads that may be possibly stolen.