Source of lead impinged by local laws.

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Well, went to local recycler to get lead. They said they could only sell to none licences individuals, what they consider to be "pure lead", with an EPA fee. Came up to $ 5 a lb for dental shield foils. Most were in the bite piece still. However I could buy non specified lead alloy at $3 a lb.

Got A bright Idea and asked the dentist, he said local county laws only allowed him to pay county licensed recycler to remove it. That every tab had to be weighed and accounted for. Then he had to pay $1 a pound to have a licensed recycler remove them and sign his sheet.
Just wondering, anyone else running into this kind of crap while trying to get lead?
Seams like a local racket to me.
 
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S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I haven't, got plenty already. My dentist has gone digital, thought most had. You may need to consider Roto Metals, known alloy and probably a competitive price.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Locally, X-ray machines have been digital for many years.

I agree with S Mac, if I were in need of casting metal I'd buy from Roto Metals, rather than driving round town trying to scrounge X-ray thingies that probably weigh a thousand to the pound of processed lead.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
they are trying to hose you down and soap you up.
I ain't checked the price of spot lead for a while but I bet it's under a dollar, and they have to ship the stuff to get that price.
if you paid them spot for it they would come out ahead.

call one of those U-pick it junk yards and ask about bringing a bucket and taking ww's off the cars.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
call one of those U-pick it junk yards and ask about bringing a bucket and taking ww's off the cars.
Local pull apart said I can have all I want free. Last time I went thru it I got like 5 wheel weights. As most vehicles are less than 20 years old and the rims are sporting zinc, steel, of a zinc alloy wheel weight. Not really worth making a special trip around here.
However I am a weird type of animal that enjoys running around and spending 3 hrs and $10 in gas to save $1 on lead.
It's like going on a miniature safari to me.
Figure it's like hunting. If you hang out with a gun and bow in the woods long enough sooner or later you will get that big buck that makes it all worth the while.
 
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Ian

Notorious member
None of the salvage yards here will sell scrap. Not even on the side.

I pretty much don't fool with scrap anymore except for things I stumble into like 250lbs of roofing lead from a local roofer who lost his buyer (muzzle-loader shooter) and stuck it on face book marketplace.

When you consider your time, energy, and money, it's likely better spent on ready-to-roll ingots from Rotometals. The days of scrounging for any significant quantity of lead alloy are pretty much over in most places.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
yeah you just gotta work the angles.
back when they gave away ww's rather than throw them in the dumpster it still took me a couple of months to work out a little route to go get them.

probably worth the time to haunt craigs list or wherever and pay the buck a LB.
 
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JonB

Halcyon member
It's probably only gonna get more difficult to acquire "scrap" lead.
I've been told by a few "chain-type" tire shops that Corporate says it must go through a licensed scrapper....same with Walmart.

If you are in a rural area or near a rural area, just start asking around anyone that does metal recycling as a hobby or side job thing. Or the small time clean out companies or junk haulers. I know of two in my area, and they have become my best sources for scrap lead alloys.

Lastly, just put the word out with your local friends, that you are looking for Lead....you'll be surprised at what might just show up.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Kevin,
Our elected representatives are not the sole problem. The un-elected EPA bureaucrats actually have more power, that it is pretty much unchecked, and their regulations are mostly written without any solid scientific facts.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I'm positive I have enough in ingots, the few buckets still out back to get melted down are just, well,,, more.
it doesn't stop me from scrounging, berm mining, sharing & swapping with others around town.
hit up the guys at work, I have had some surprises dropped off to me once guys found out I was looking for lead, tin, solder, empty brass.
5-10 lbs. of this that and the other have popped up from time to time, and usually for just happy to see it used prices.
 

Rally

NC Minnesota
I would encourage you to keep looking. Just don't look at the usual outlets, like was mentioned, the chain stores have it all sold on contract. I've had my best luck looking at the small mom & pop shops in small towns. They have to sell it to a scrap dealer and get charged to pick it up, so will deal on price if you take it all. Small implement/ truck shops can be a gold mine. Like Fiver mentioned never hurts to get word out you are looking for lead either, you just never know when some crane weights will show up on your door step. Most mom 7 pop operations will usually only have a 5 gallon bucket, but you never know when you will find a 30 gallon barrel full of old wheel weights stored in an outbuilding.
Kevin and Jon,
I've never heard Mn. had a law against buying wheel weights from a scrap dealer. I know a dealer who has over a ton and willing to sell it, but he wants .50 lb, and I don't pay over .25 lb. I'd be more than happy to give you his number if you need it.
 

JonB

Halcyon member
I didn't say MN had a law...but maybe I wasn't clear in my words?
I indicated chain tire stores and Walmart, will only release scrap Lead to licensed scrappers.
Corporations have rules, thanks to lawyers and insurance companies.

Also, there could be some Federal HazMat regulations/restrictions on large corporations, that smaller companies/businesses aren't required to follow?
Water Gremlin (a Company in White Bear township, MN) was recently in the news about Lead contamination in Employees kids. The State shut them down, until they figured out the problem and cleaned it up. They have 350 employees. I seen on one report, that there was translators, indicating some or many employees don't speak English.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Yes, there could be rules that apply to large companies that don't to small companies. OSHA, for instance, isn't supposed to have authority if an outfit employs less than a certain number of people. I think it used to be 35 or 50 people. Same idea with Haz Mat only it's a matter of weight or volume of the material. We have a local zinc mine that has to have a Haz Mat licensed company truck their material because in 40K lbs of ore there is about 3 lbs of a listed Haz Mat. We're talking tiny bits of material spread throughout a tractor trailer load of ore. You could eat it until you were full and wouldn't get enough to harm you, but the percentages make it a Haz Mat. Meanwhile, every town, county and the state spread millions of tons of salt and calcium chloride on our roads, poisoning our waterways, wells and roadsides but that just hunky dory. Makes sense, eh? I'll stop here lest I branch off into things political.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
For several years before I escaped from SoCal it was a waste of time to try and get any weights from a tire shop that sold Interstate batteries. Seems Interstate contracts with the tire shops for all their weights, the same truck that delivered the batteries to the store left with all of their weights. No idea what kind of deal they made or money changing hands but I suspect a better wholesale price on the batteries. But whatever the deal they made if there was an Interstate batteries sign in the window no sense stopping.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
I bought a ton of (mostly) roof sheathing a few years ago from a recycling center. They wouldn't sell to me until I whipped out my business card and a copy of document ST-105, which is the State tax-exemption certificate. (We don't pay sales tax on materials and supplies and we have to collect sales tax on in-state retail sales.) That did the trick, no questions but since we didn't have an account with them they made me pay in cash.

My suggestion: Spend $10-$15 for some business cards that have a simple business name and a phrase on them such as "restorations and renovations", "artistry in recycled materials", you get the idea. For whatever the reasons (insurance regs, local laws, liability concerns) many businesses that won't deal with private citizens will deal with another business.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Makes me happy to be a member of a large gun club with over 1 K members. Lots of handgun shooters depositing lead for decades and decades means lots of bullets waiting be be repurposed.

If I really work at it I can get 100# in a day with a cup, bucket, and my fingers. Might take an hour.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Coincidence, or not, I don't know, but the tire store my friend and shooting pard manages used to carry Interstate batteries. Two or three years ago, and about five years after lead wheel weights were banned, the display of Interstate batteries was removed.