A glimpse into the world of North Fork metal hunters
While some scrappers take what they can from dumpsters without permission, Ms. Horton said she tries to protect the reputations of the scrapper community at large by asking them. She believes better communication with residents and business owners pays off in the long-run; cultivating sources helps Ms. Horton more easily find scrap metal throughout the year, she said. This is especially critical during the winter.
Much of Ms. Horton’s route consists of restaurants and construction sites where owners are happy to have her haul away their rubbish for free. She also receives tips from friends and residents who have spotted metal up for grabs.
And the streets aren’t the only place to find metal: Ms. Horton also combs through websites like Facebook and Craigslist for free items.
“People think of a scrapper as a low-life or someone who is scrounging up garbage, but really they would be fooled,” Ms. Horton said.
In actuality, scrappers come from a wide assortment of backgrounds, said Pete Escabi, manager of Gershow Recycling in Riverhead. Several tons of scrap metal are brought to the site annually.
“We have people from all walks of life come through here,” Mr. Escabi said. “Everybody from professionals to your everyday kind of people — electricians, plumbers, contractors or homeowners.”
After scrap is weighed at the Riverhead location, trucks transport the materials to Gershow’s main location in Medford. There, the metal is shredded and compressed into blocks before being sold to manufacturers across the country, Mr. Escabi said.
Given the ever-changing price of metal and the fact that there is no guarantee of success, the majority of scrappers do it to supplement other forms of income.
“The price of metals goes up and down all the time, so you are not always making the same amount of money,” said Andrew Olsen of Riverhead, an occasional scrapper who added that seeing a young female scrapper around town is atypical.
“I have seen woman scrapping but they are usually older and with their spouses,” Mr. Olsen said.
On occasion, Ms. Horton uses her skills as a nail technician to make ends meet in the winter. However, she relies entirely on scrapping to pay for gas, bills and other essentials.
“I try not to get too concerned about money,” she said. “I love what I do. I would call it my dream job, but unfortunately it is not a fixed income. That is the hardest part.”
After graduating from Greenport High School, Ms. Horton worked in retail, which she said wasn’t the right fit for her. She also cares for her grandparents, making it difficult to hold a job that doesn’t offer flexible hours. So she opted for what she describes as her “full-time, part-time job” in scrapping. This, she said, allows her to care for her family and make enough money to live independently.
“The main reason why I don’t have a ‘real job’ is because my family depends on me a lot,” she said. “Looking around [for metal] is just an everyday part of that. Sometimes I’ll be doing errands for my family and get distracted and start scrapping.”
Ms. Horton got her start in the field at just 16, after she cashed in on junk metal she had helped her grandmother clean up from the family’s yard, From then on, she said, discarded metal caught her eye.
“I just started picking stuff up when I saw it to make a couple extra bucks,” she said. “Then it just grew.”
Ms. Horton knows her paycheck is coming when her trailer is finally full. Depending on the season, she makes the trip to Crown Recycling two to three times a month. Each trailer of metal can be worth anywhere from $200 to $700, she said.
“When I pull out of my driveway I can tell by the weight of the trailer that it’s going to be a good day,” she said. “I don’t own my own business or anything, but I got a 20-foot trailer and I make my money.”
