Take note, all you dumpster divers and free furniture junkies: metal prices are on the rise. And that means competition at junkyards is getting tougher.

"I'm here at Harvard University Recycling Center. It's Thursday morning, time for the weekly furniture giveaway, and the atmosphere is frenzied... A grandmotherly woman hefts a laser printer into an office chair, and then pushes it along like it's a shopping cart..."

As if competing with grandmothers and bargain shoppers wasn't hard enough, now visitors at Harvard's furniture giveaway have a new rival... scrap metal scavengers who kidnap filing cabinets, and snip off power cords just for the copper. This is pissing some people off, especially those who just want to re-use the stuff rather than see it recycled as scrap.

But is the situation as simple as re-users vs. recyclers? Only one way to find out. You'll have to listen to this, my first field piece produced for NPR.

Labels: audio, economy