Patterson Irrigator | Your Local Paper - Council OKs stricter laws for scrap metal recyclers

December 3, 2008 Patterson, CA

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Council OKs stricter laws for scrap metal recyclers

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Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator /
Friday, 07 September 2007
“If we’re going to be getting into this every month, I might just close up.” — Amado Cervantes Patterson Recycling Center owner Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator If people want to recycle scrap metal in Patterson, they’re likely to be thumbprinted before they can get their money. That’s just one of the recycling regulations Patterson City Council voted 4-0 to adopt Tuesday. The rules are an attempt to deter scrap metal thefts. The council must give the law a second reading at a meeting Sept. 18 before it can take effect. The only business to fall under the new rules is Patterson Recycling Center on North First Street. The regulations are based on a county recycling law proposed by Supervisor Jim DeMartini. His goal is to get all of the county’s nine cities to adopt the rules. Patterson is the first city to vote on it. Other rules would require a recycling center to list all the scrap metal it buys, along with whom they buy it from. That list would have to be given to police by noon the following day. If the rest of the cities in the county adopt the law, it would create a countywide database of all scrap metal purchased by recyclers each day. Police could use that information to find stolen property. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator The law also limits metal recyclers’ hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. People would need to present identification cards to sell to recyclers. Any payments made by recyclers for more than $10 would have to be by check. This is the second set of recycling rules in less than a year in Patterson. In January, the city planning commission approved rules that aimed to deter scrap metal theft. At that time, there had been a string of scrap metal thefts in the city, especially of copper. Patterson Police Chief Tyrone Spencer proposed those regulations and said there has been a sharp decrease in scrap metal theft since then. Still, he thinks the new rules would be a benefit if they applied throughout the county, because of the database. If someone reported a scrap metal theft in Patterson, Spencer said, that database would allow police to see if it had been sold anywhere else in the county. Patterson Recycling Center owner Amado Cervantes said this week he’s willing to work with the city, but he’s frustrated that the rules keep changing. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “If we’re going to be getting into this every month, I might just close up,” Cervantes said. He plans to speak at the Sept. 18 council meeting. He also worries that if people have to go through the hassle of giving thumbprints, it could turn business away. “A lot of people will just end up throwing it away,” Cervantes said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to explain myself to the council.” To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 256 Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed hmmm....what does that mean..... written by doc holliday , September 08, 2007 good job....many are out there in their trucks looking for copper to take....it's a good thing that the recyclers need to share in the responsibility to report thefts....many are not....I wonder why?...... report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 Write comment Name Email Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.