Re:Traceability (Score 1)

Several counties (including Orange) and cities (including Orlando) in Florida have passed laws making it illegal for recyclers to pay cash to customers for "frequently stolen" materials like copper wire and require a check be mailed to the customers for these items. Law enforcement claimed this would make it easier to identify thieves. State law already required recyclers to collect the name, age, dob, address, phone number, height, weight, identifying marks, hair color, eye color, vehicle make, model, and tag, plus a copy of the customers driver's license, a picture of the customer, and a picture of the material being sold. If all that wasn't enough for the cops to catch the thieves, the fact the check was mailed to them is not going to make any difference. But it does add more hassle and overhead to running the business: check fraud is skyrocketing for the scrap metal recyclers.