Are You Allowed to Go Dumpster Diving for Gold Scrap, Silver Scrap and Platinum?
Sometimes it is hard to resist climbing into a dumpster and looking around. Who could resist dumpsters that look like these?
A dumpster is sitting by an old industrial building that is being renovated because it has been sold. Just by looking at it, you can see clumps of thermocouple wire. You can see old window air conditioners. And that’s only on the top level of debris! You can just sense that there are all kinds of items in there that contain precious metals.
A dumpster is sitting in a parking lot on the campus of a state university that is located near you. It seems to be full of old desktop computers that are being tossed away. You’re dying to hop in or pull up alongside it with a rented cube van. While you’re thinking of all the gold scrap you can pull from those old computers, dollar signs are dancing in your eyes.
Yes, you can let your emotions run away with you when you make dumpster discoveries like those. But removing anything from dumpsters – or even jumping in to look around – can get you in a lot of trouble. So your job is to find out who really owns what they contain – and how to get in touch with those owners – and to secure permission first.
What Can Possibly Go Wrong?
The police can pull up and arrest you. You see, there is another name for taking things that don’t belong to you – it is called “stealing.” We once talked with a man who told us, “I assumed they couldn’t arrest me because I hadn’t actually taken anything, I was only looking around.” He was in for a rude awakening. In fact, he got hauled to police headquarters and got a summons to appear in court.
The waste removal company that owns the dumpster can pull up and make life very difficult for you. You see, if you are taking (or about to take) stuff that belongs to a waste removal company, you can get into a very unpleasant situation with them. They tend to be quite protective about their dumpsters and what they contain. And do you know what? You can’t really blame them, it’s their business.
The company or organization that owns the waste can call the police. You see, somebody owns what is in the dumpster. That “somebody” could be the people who own the building where the junk came from. It could be the company that owns the dumpster. But as you might have noticed, one thing is for sure – you don’t own that stuff, unless you buy it from whoever owns it.
Ask First, Even Though You Might End Up with Nothing
Fortunately, it’s easy to find out who owns a dumpster that has caught your eye. The companies that own and rent dumpsters almost always post their names on the dumpsters they own. You can simply call them up and ask whether you can review the contents of the dumpster you discovered, and then buy any junk from them that you want.
Let’s face it – chances are pretty good they won’t say yes. After all, their business model relies on sorting out scrap that ends up in their dumpsters and selling or recycling anything valuable that they find. But you can ask. And hearing them say “no” is much better than getting in hot water for messing around with property you don’t own.
Another way to get your hands on valuable gold, silver and even platinum scrap is to get ahead of the process, by asking local entities whether they have any scrap that you can buy directly from them. A hospital might be scrapping hundreds of old computers, for example. So might a college. And if you read in a local news source that a factory in your area is about to be demolished, you can call up the owners and ask to review the building’s contents and buy scrap from them.
The message is, the best way to own precious metal scrap is to buy it, or negotiate for it, before it ends up in a dumpster and becomes off-limits.
And when you end up owning precious metal scrap because you negotiated for it in the right way, give our precious metal consultants a call at 800-426-2344. We are here to help you turn your discoveries into cash.