Lancaster City Council jumping on scrap metal bandwagon

by Alex Bentley

Showing that they know a good trend when they see it, the Lancaster City Council, at their regular biweekly meeting tonight, will consider enacting an ordinance restricting the sale of scrap metal in the city, even though Lancaster currently has no metal recycling businesses. This is in keeping with a request from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to ensure that unscrupulous metal recyclers don't try to move to cities where no such ordinance exists.

If approved (and let's be honest -- why wouldn't it be?), the ordinance will require sellers of scrap metal to present a legit photo ID, sign a statement attesting to the legality of ownership of their scrap metal, and consent to having their picture taken (the ordinance does allow for "a similar likeness," which may mean that courtroom artists may soon find another outlet for their services).