The increase in scrap metal prices has changed behavior. Lex just shot me an article about a Western PA bridge that was stolen for scrap, titled How Does an Entire Bridge Go Mission? Since the 50′ long bridge was on an abandoned rail line and in a remote area, the theives (perhaps unemployed construction workers?) took what police estimated to be a month to demo and scrap the bridge.

The photo above, not of the stolen bridge but a stock photo, gives a sense of how much steel could be recycled from the caper. It hardly seems worth going to jail, especially considering that a only a few scrap yards exist and would need to be investigated, but someone thought it worth the risk.

Another, less risky, venture I recently read about in the Central Penn Business News involved demo companies buying old industrial properties just for the scrap value of the buildings. With the dismal real estate market, particularly in old industrial areas, some firms actually can profit from purchasing early industrial buildings (which probably have lots of copper wiring and heavy steel structures) and scrapping the buildings. Then the property can be sold later when the market rebounds.

We recently demolished an old school building to build a church and I was amazed at the scrap prices we received. Keep the value of recycling in mind as you make renovation decisions. Some options now deserve some analysis that previously would have been dismissed immediately. The world, she’s a changing.