Last week I cleaned out my garage and found a few pieces of copper and aluminum scrap leftover from a remodeling project.

I figured that since the price of metals has gone up quite a bit lately, I'd drop the stuff off at the nearest recycling center.

Driving past the dump in Algona, I stopped at the bright yellow house with the green trim on West Valley Highway, on the outskirts of the town of Pacific.

Inside the gate, I hauled out my 10 gallon tub full of treasure and dropped it on the ground next to a big scale.

A couple of pretty girls came up and started poking through the container. Bianca asked me for my I.D. and license plate number and checked my name against a "no-buy" list.

Jill put the bucket on the scale and shouted out the weight. Bianca then gave me a form to fill out with my mailing address and another pretty girl, Kimberly, gave me a decent amount of cash for the stuff I used to think was just junk.

Money for scrap, and lots of attention from attractive women.

I thought I was in heaven, at least until I looked at a press clipping in the window.

"Millions In Scrap Stolen Across The State Recently."

The article included a mug shot of a shady looking character. Just then I heard a voice, "Can I help you?"

I turned to see a big man in a floral shirt. I told him who I was and asked him about the article. He handed me his card and at first was a little reluctant to say much.

Jerald Eck runs this place, and also owns The Rusty Rack Guy's operation across the street. His cell phone rings and he excuses himself. He's a busy guy and it's understandable.

The scrap metal recycling industry is in some turmoil, due to the combination of increasingly brazen theft and to a few unscrupulous recyclers who have taken scrap metal without getting the identity of the customer or without attempting to verify that the goods were not stolen.

In the first part of this year, thieves ripped off 500 brass grave-site flower vases from three Seattle cemeteries. And just a few weeks ago, a south Seattle scrap dealer was busted in a police sting and was shut down.

Jerry Eck explained the difficulties, "When somebody brings in some material, we have to make a lot of decisions, the employees have to make a lot of decisions."

He points to the back of the bin-filled yard, "A (bad) guy can come in with somebody else and use that guy's I.D...it's hard to figure out sometimes."

Jerry pointed to the mug shot and news clipping on the window.

"That's Ken Thode, he was arrested last year for ripping a mile and a half of wire out of a road project in Auburn."

In a related email that the Federal Way News received from Jay Sternoff of Pacific Iron and Metal in Seattle, Sternoff writes, "Though Thode was caught in the act, no charges have been filed against him by the King County Prosecutor (and) he has served no time."

Sternoff also wrote that "in most cases intervention by State workers was the alert to solve the (Thode) theft. The funeral vases and the Everbright case in south Seattle were both solved by recyclers alerting the police."

He adds, "Metal theft is very difficult to identify and the most convictions will come from recyclers cooperating and not police investigative work."

Jerry Eck suspected that Thode was attempting to sell some stolen items at his yard not long ago and called the police. "I have a good relationship with the Pacific Police."

There are currently two measures in the legislature that would tighten restrictions on recycling yards: HB 1251 and ESSB 5312, that latter of which has passed the legislature.

According to Sternoff, it has no hold of materials in it; however, it presently has a $30 cash limit per day and a 10 day delay on payment by check to the general public.

Business to Business is exempt from this restriction and, writes Sternoff, "the governor's staff is reviewing the legislation at this time and only at signing will we know if she agrees with all the terms of the legislation."

The governor has until mid May to sign the bill.

At Valley Recycling, I was asked for my I.D., address and license plate number, just as the law currently requires, so Eck's operation is under control as far as the legal aspect.

Still, Eck does not like the overarching message.

"They want us to be the police...and it feels like we're treating our customers like criminals."

Because SB5312 has already passed in the House, recyclers around the area are working to get legislators to reconsider.

Jerry told me that he has thirteen employees at this yard and revealed that some of them were recovering addicts. "I believe in first chances, and even second chances...but NOT third chances."

Eck called to one of the girls and she came up to us a little reluctantly, "I don't want to have my picture taken," she giggled, but she caved in to my charm.

I asked Bianca how she liked working for Jerry. "It's great!...we're doing something to help the environment...I love coming to work!" She giggled again and waved to Jill.

"Come up here, he wants to ask you some questions," he said.

Jerry seemed to enjoy that his people were getting some recognition. "These are good people," he said, smiling.