On a different note, is there any particular reason you're focusing on mechanic shops? This is usually the first place someone new to scrapping thinks of. I know I did. As time goes by, you'll get more creative in finding places people wouldn't normally think of that have a steady supply of metal. For example, I got started scrapping when the print shop I worked at started slowing down and eventually closed. Paper was their money scrap. Along with the aluminum plates. But anything else went in the trash. Everything from banding wire, empty ink cans, broken machine parts, etc. I asked my manager and he said if it's already in the dumpster, it's mine. So you don't always have to look for places that mainly produce metal waste. Sometimes it's better to find a place that the metal is an afterthought because people pay for garbage removal and you taking it for free saves them money.
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