Its practically springtime in Montana, and you know what that means…its time to start thinking about clearing out some of your old scrap!  If you aren’t aware, Pacific’s branch locations offer a variety of out-job services and may be able to help you free up some space.

If you’d like to figure out where your closest Pacific branch is and give the friendly Pacific folks a call to see how they might be able to lend a hand, check out our map of locations and set up a meeting to see what they can do for you!

You never know what your local branch can do unless you give them a call!

With the economy in such turmoil, most people are tightening their budgets and saving what money they can.

However, some other people have taken to stealing items made of metals in order to sell them to scrap recyclers in order to put a little money in their pockets.  Nothing is safe from a determined thief, including church bells, wheelchair ramps, Internet cables, copper wiring from air conditioners, catalytic converters, cemetery plaques and more.  Any metal product that may have potential to be sold for profit can be targeted.

Although scrap yards are constantly on the lookout for stolen property, it is important for other businesses and individuals to keep their eyes open and to protect themselves from being victimized.  Installing security cameras, reporting suspicious behavior, and requesting your local law enforcement agency to make extra patrols through your neighborhood or past your business may help reduce the risk of being targeted by these thieves.

A friend over in Greensboro, NC (who I have never officially met except in cyberspace) has supplied a series on his blog about preparing scrap metals for recycling. Since I got behind in my reference to these articles, I thought I better catch up. So, here they are all at once:

• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10

I hope you found them as informative as I did. Thanks, RecycleBills!

When it comes to recycling metals, it is a good idea to have some basic knowledge of how recyclers separate metals. That way, you can get the most for your scrap. This article is a pretty good primer on basic metal sorting. Apparently, there will be additional information posted so stay tuned.

While some beverage makers may balk at an aluminum bottle (it is a little difficult to see the beverage when the bottle isn’t glass.), it does make for a much greener manufacturing process all the way around.

• In more rural areas, it is virtually impossible to recycle glass in an environmentally or economically efficient way.
• Aluminum bottles would also help recyclers by increasing the volume of aluminum they recycle.
• Most bottles include a paper label which only impedes the recycling process.

I know there have to be negative aspects to aluminum bottles and I’m interested in your thoughts. What possible downsides do you see to aluminum bottles?