The Big Hauls

I consider myself to be a new generation of scrappers. Most scrappers are old guys with beat up pickup trucks, and high technology to them is their cell phone. They drive around the streets and pick up scrap before the garbage trucks arrive. This is still an effective way to find scrap.

But being the avid blogger that I am, and being married to my laptop, I had to come up with alternative methods of finding the big hauls.

On my Facebook page I announced that I would be happy to haul any metal scrap for free. I immediately had two replies.

Homer
One was from the Barn Studio of Art seeking to have an old coal furnace removed. One look at this beast and I told them I would not, could not in good conscience scrap it. It is 99 years old. It is in perfect working condition. Pat fondly named the heater "Homer". Everything in The Barn has a name.

I offered, and they agreed, to allow me to broker a sale to an interested party. I volunteered my expertise at dismantling the unit, and will post ads to find a good buyer. I take a percentage, and the Barn gets some much-needed operating funds. Win-win.

Greed is bad - I could have just taken it and scrapped it. Would would I have gained, $30? And a dose of bad karma!

"A Few Pieces of Metal"
The other big haul was a few miles away. A friend on Facebook saw my note and told me to contact her husband, Chick. He said he had an old AC unit, and some scrap.

Chick is a retired Millville police officer, retired USMC, former private detective, and has had an interesting life. We spent more time chatting than we did moving scrap. He had more than a few pieces!

I got back into Millville with half an hour to spare before the scrap yard closed, so I unloaded the AC and some other pieces that had to be dismantled, and made a run to the scrap yard. In short, "a few pieces of metal" turned out to be 300 pounds of scrap. And I didn't even do the aluminum or copper, let alone the AC cores, and electric cords.