The Scrap Man Cometh

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It was the end of their first week on the dump, which meant one thing - the arrival of the scrap man and a chance to earn some money to improve their standard of living at last.

Had they spent their time scavenging well? With the exception of Selena's skipful of plastic they had concentrated on scrap metals. But had they been looking in the right places? And were they selling the right things, or would they kick themselves if they sold something that would later prove to be very useful?
In particular, Jason was concerned about a copper boiler the group had found. He thought it could have been useful for building the solar shower he had planned. But others in the group had decided to strip it of its insulation and sell it as scrap copper.

Crunch time

Ray Crocker is a professional scrap merchant, a man for whom recycling is more than a passing fad: 'This is what I do for a living. Some people treat the environment as a hobby, but we're serious about earning money.' He specializes in making a living from scrap metal. 'People will throw maybe £100-200 of scrap copper and then pay to have the skip taken away. People just don't realize the value, that's what puts a smile on my face.'

As Ray pulled up in his truck spirits were high. How much were they going to make and what would they be able to buy with their profit?

First up was the copper boiler. To everyone's delight (except Jason) Ray announced he would give them £28.50 for it - a very good start. However, from there on the rewards got smaller and smaller and things got even worse when it came to their bathtub full of drink cans, which Ray refused to buy as they're not properly segregated.

Ray explained that drink cans can be made from either steel or aluminium – and that sometimes the same make of drink with identical packaging can be produced in both steel and aluminium. Most cans have a label on them to tell you what they're made of, but for scratched or dirty cans sometimes the only way to tell is to test them with a magnet.

A disappointing day

The group eventually make a rather disappointing £45 for their work, made to look even worse when Ray takes them round the site and immediately spots items which could have tripled their earnings. They need to work harder next time to make more money.