Where there's scrap there's rubbish

By Hugh Pym
BBC business and economics correspondent

Richard Johnson, who runs a business recycling electrical goods, contacted the BBC News website about a national flytipping problem.

Recycler Richard Johnson

In Richard's local area in Cambridgeshire he has spotted discarded plastic insulation for electric cables without the copper wiring inside.

Telltale signs

These strips of plastic sheathing along with computer parts stripped of their metal content have been chucked on authorised flytips.

Richard says these are telltale signs: "The fact that cables are cut off and there are no computers left at the flytip area indicates that the people who are doing it know the market and know what they can get money out of and what they can't".

Cowboy operators

These cowboy operators collect computer and other electrical items from unwitting customers.

Abandoned scrap goods

Their aim is solely to cash in on the soaring price of scrap metal. It has rocketed because of demand from fast growing economies like India and China.

Established recycling centres are working flat out to supply a market desperate for metals, particularly copper.

They dispose of what's left responsibly. A copper household hot water cylinder has seen its metal resale value double to around £50 pounds over the last few years.

Wooden cable drums dumped in ditches

So it's no surprise that unlicensed dealers are attracted to what looks like rich pickings from scrap. They are ready to dump their unwanted rubbish.

Experts we contacted endorsed Richard's findings. Steve Lee from the Chartered Institute of Waste Management said:

Lorry unloads waste

"Because the price is going through the roof, less scrupulous operators are thinking of coming in and making a quick buck by cable stripping. Its bad for the environment - it's a crime - we shouldn't put up with it".

Scrap metal goldrush

A spokesperson for South Staffordshire Council underlined the concern:

"We have had a number of fly-tipping reports over the last 12 months where the dumped rubbish has been stripped of metal. On a number of occasions we have had reported wooden cable drums dumped in ditches.

We also have had a number of reports of stripped cable dumped in lanes."

It looks like another unexpected and undesirable consequence of the scrap metal goldrush.

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