Eminent domain efforts sell scrapyards down the river

Oct 31, 2012 | 07:01 PM | Lisa Gordon

Tags  Full of Scrap, Knutson Metals Inc., PSC Metals Inc., Lisa Gordon,

Scrap metal recyclers already face a plethora of problems, including reduced margins and increased operational costs as a result of local ordinances. And if such problems aren’t enough, scrapyards also are under attack in what essentially is “the ungreening of America.”

After operating for as long as a century on property that once was considered the “wrong side of town,” scrapyards’ riverfront and urban spaces have now become valuable, coveted targets of eminent domain. Replacing a “green industry” with “green space” does nothing to promote what this country really needs: jobs.

Across the country, more and more recyclers are being asked to pack up their shears to make way for riverfront parks and stadiums so that the public can enjoy the space. But this is not a nation that built itself on leisure time, and the notion that industryÑincluding recyclers, who are such vital links in the raw material supply chainÑshould be displaced by pedestrian paths and playgrounds is ludicrous.....