Copper Theft Solution For Pull Boxes And Hand Holes
Jun 06, 2011
Vandal Proof Replacement Covers
Copper Theft Solution
{very simple & inexpensive}
Municipalities across the country and around the world are losing millions of dollars to copper thieves. With scrap copper prices reaching 4.00/lb and even higher — and with the suffering economy, copper theft has steadily increased over the past year. Cities and states are taking steps to combat this problem through law enforcement efforts and passing laws that limit recyclers with new regulations.
These steps are not very effective because law enforcement only catches a small percentage of these crooks for one thing– and we are finding evidence that the copper wire especially, is not being recycled. A good percentage is being reused by dishonest electricians that would rather steal the wire for their next job than pay for it. We also believe that a good portion of this stolen copper is leaving the country in containers.
There are measures that can be taken by municipalities to stop copper theft from happening to start with. We estimate that about 95% of the copper wire theft is coming from pull boxes and hand hole covers on light poles along roadways and in parks. These access points are not protected. They are secured with standard every day screws and bolts and the means to remove them is in every tool box. Tamperproof screws have been tried by some but these old style tamper-resistant fasteners are no longer effective because the driver bits have become available now at the retail level and online.
The real answer is simple…Bryce Fastener has taken tamperproof to the next level with Key-Rex custom locking fasteners. These fasteners are keyed individually for each municipality and will never be available on the open market. This simple and inexpensive locking fastener is being used in cities and DOTs across the country. No loses have been reported where they have been installed…in fact we have testimonials from users stating just how effective they are.