MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A new state inspection process would make sure Tennessee scrap yards were not buying stolen metal.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance partnered with the Tennessee Scrap Recyclers Association to do annual inspections.
When it comes to scrap metal, Lonny Worley, co-owner of Worley Brothers Scrap Iron and Metal, didn’t mess around.
“I’ve got a wall at one of my buildings. I’ve probably got 200, 300 sets of drivers license pictures saying, ‘Hey. This guy sold me something hot,'” Worley said.
Like many scrap yards in the area, Worley required a fingerprint, signature and drivers license to sell metal.
In some cases, they said they do more than that before scrapping what they were sold.
“When we buy a car, we send it to the police station every day. They get a VIN number of every car I buy,” Worley said.
Now, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the TN Scrap Recyclers Association announced they would be doing annual checks on yards across the state to make sure everyone was living up to those same standards.
According to reports, it would audit records, make sure yards were in compliance with state rules and ensure yards were not buying stolen metal.
Sellers WREG talked to liked the idea.
Even though Worley did thorough checks himself, he said he welcomed the extra set of eyes and anything that would ensure no one gets away with pulling the wool over his.
“You get a gut feeling if something’s wrong, and if it’s wrong, I don’t want nothing to do with it,” Worley said.
The state planned to inspect all 300 scrap yards across the state before the end of the year.