Leaving cities dark and businesses in ruin, the skyrocketing demand for recycled copper has a seedy underbelly.

The Upper Midwest Chapter of Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), a trade group representing scrap metal workers, has sued the Minnesota Department of Commerce, alleging that a new law imposing a $250 license fee involving copper recyclers meant as a "barrier to entry" could hinder the majority of recycling efforts without deterring copper wire thieves.

The Copper Wire Theft Law is designed to hamper the sale of stolen metal, which has plagued cities across the U.S. In 2023, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, said it spent $1.2 million repairing and replacing streetlights and signals stripped of wiring, marking a 380% increase from five years ago.

However, ReMA officials say that the Copper Wire Theft Law, effective Jan. 1, is an unconstitutional separation of powers that gives sweeping authority and too little specificity. And, because the bill applies to small amounts of copper metal, recyclers worry that all Minnesotans selling scrap metal will wind up needing a costly license.

The lawsuit is seeking an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect to allow the association to work with the state to further clarify the legislation and define basic terms, including the types of copper scrap covered by the legislation.

Copper is present in nearly all electronics to some extent, from cars to circuitry, yet apart from implicit authorization for plumbers and electrical contractors already licensed by the state, the law is ambiguous regarding the types of copper sales that would require licensing, be they from home renovations or high-volume industrial accounts.

Small amounts of copper-bearing scrap not worth the price of a license would wind up in the landfill or black market, a counterproductive prospect amid the global push for electrification and circularity.

"This is critical because almost all of the 'scrap metal' that is sold to 'scrap metal dealers' in Minnesota contain 'copper metal,'" the lawsuit reads. "In sum, then, the Copper Metal Law will, if 'enforced' without the relief sought herein, effectively shutter the entire 'scrap metal' industry in Minnesota."

This action follows a long line of attempts to remedy a desperate issue that has drained city budgets, endangered residents, and put city authorities – from legislators to law enforcement – back on their heels.

St. Paul Deputy Chief Kurt Hallstrom, whose testimony is also cited in the ReMA lawsuit, explained that current laws make it difficult to prosecute copper wire thieves without proof of where the wire could be stolen from. Like with many energy-transition metals coming under increased scrutiny, a circular supply chain – necessarily supported by recycling – requires transparency and improved tracking of materials and their sources.

A quiet national emergency

This isn't only a Midwest problem; major U.S. cities from coast to coast have been going dark and worse. Unprotected streetlights and electrical boxes are being targeted by thieves who strip them of their copper wire and plunge thoroughfares into darkness, endangering pedestrians and drivers, disrupting essential services and damaging neighborhood infrastructure.

Earlier this year in the San Francisco Bay Area, three cities lost 911 service for a week after copper thieves cut wires along an AT&T cable.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been publicly battling its own copper ring targeting San Fernando Valley neighborhoods and metal recyclers, still besieged after its most recent bust of over 80 arrests and seizure of 2,000 pounds of copper wire.

K. Warner

Sixth Street Bridge

At the 6th Street Bridge in Boyle Heights, connecting to the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, miles of wire were stripped, leaving the landmark in eerie darkness after only two years of being newly refurbished in 2022. The bridge is a scenic viaduct that spans the Los Angeles River, the famous Golden State Freeway, as well as several railroad tracks and local streets.

In a press conference, Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León claimed the length of copper wiring stolen from the bridge measures a staggering 38,000 feet – over seven miles – and will cost the city upwards of $2.5 million to repair, adding to the city total of 6,842 cases of copper wire theft reported in 2023.

In January, council members, including de León, announced a new task force (coined the Heavy Metal Task Force) with members from the LAPD, LA Bureau of Street Lighting, and the telecom industry – the hardest hit industries – to address copper wire theft.

"Just five years ago, we were dealing with 500 to 600 cases on an annual basis. However, just in the past year, that number has skyrocketed to a staggering 6,713 cases, with repair costs exceeding an estimated $17 million," de León said.

According to the councilman, the recent tripling of funding towards preventing copper wire theft still hasn't been effective – the rate has multiplied tenfold between 2018 and 2022, according to the Bureau of Street Lighting.

"Thieves are literally picking our city apart, for parts to sell," he said.

"We've already recovered over 1,600 pounds of copper wire. Now, that wire in itself is worth about $40,000, but the consequences to the taxpayers of Los Angeles are far, far greater than that, and the cost of repairs to replace that copper wire are estimated to be over a half million dollars already," said LA City Council President Paul Krekorian, who has tirelessly kept the Heavy Metal Task Force funded, in a public statement.

A long way to go

"This could be irrevocably catastrophic for our industry," a local Minnesotan recycler, Neil Byce, told the Minnesota Star Tribune, stating that loosely defined regulation could discourage law-abiding citizens from recycling at facilities while criminals simply continue to sell illegally or take their booty out of state. "Lawmakers are well-intentioned, and they create laws to try and give law enforcement tools, but unfortunately ... there is a disconnect between lawmakers, law enforcement and the community that's responsible for collecting all of this stuff."

The injunction would provide recyclers in the state with a "runway to solve the problem with legislators and law enforcement in a collaborative way," he added.

Councilman de León says repairs have yet to be made to the bridge lights that were stripped of copper back in June.

"They want us to repair them because every light post to them is an ATM machine. It's pure cash. When we go and repair, what do they do? They go and they steal again," he said.

In response to the ongoing threat, the Bureau of Engineering is working to redesign access panels. Further solutions are being implemented, such as creating etching and branding on all public sector copper wire, making it traceable and difficult to resell – or at least to claim ignorance.

Eight metal recyclers in nearby North Hollywood have been cited for accepting or reselling stolen wire, some clearly marked from city electrical sources.

The bridge has remained eerily dark this year as officials work toward ensuring that newly installed wire won't be easily stolen again, according to Pete Brown, spokesperson for de León, whose 14th District covers the area.