Carbide scrap pickup in Nevada

Nevada's incorporated cities are few enough to name, and we cover all of them. The Legislative Counsel Bureau lists 12 charter cities (Boulder City, Caliente, Carlin, Carson City, Elko, Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks, Wells and Yerington) and 7 general law cities (Ely, Fallon, Fernley, Lovelock, Mesquite, West Wendover and Winnemucca). That is 19 in all, per the bureau's April 2016 report, the newest edition we could find.

GOED, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, describes Nevada region by region. It writes that "Southern Nevada remains the largest economic engine in the state." Its 2025 annual report says Northern Nevada, anchored by the Reno-Sparks area, has become a center for advanced manufacturing, warehousing and technology as large industrial and logistics hubs went up over the past decade.

Elko, Ely, Winnemucca and the other mining towns on the bureau's list get the same pickup as Las Vegas.

Sources: Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau: state and local government report (2016); Nevada GOED: 2025 annual report.

NRS chapter 647 sets rules for a scrap metal processor, defined as anyone in the business of buying or otherwise receiving scrap metal. These are the ones a seller meets.

• ID. The buyer keeps a copy of your identification: a state or US territory ID card or driver's license, a US military ID, or another ID that NRS 237.200 accepts.
• Photo and fingerprint. The record includes a photograph, video record or digital record of the seller and the print of the right index finger, or of another finger or thumb if that one is not available.
• The record and your receipt. The buyer notes the plate number and a general description of the delivering vehicle, an industry-standard description of the scrap and the price, and keeps a photo or video of each purchase on site for at least 60 days. You get a receipt on site showing the date, time and place, the description and weight, the price, your ID copy and the plate number.
• Payment. The statute reads: "For each purchase of scrap metal with a value of $150 or more by a scrap metal processor, the scrap metal processor must pay the seller only by check or electronic transfer of money." A check to a business seller is made out in the business's own name. Under $150, a processor may do no more than one cash transaction with any one seller in a single day.
• Holds. A peace officer or investigator working a criminal case can put a written hold of up to 7 business days on related property, and extend it once for up to 7 more.

These rules are written for purchases of "scrap metal". NRS 647.017 defines it as nonferrous metals, scrap iron, stainless steel, or material or equipment made wholly or partly of metal that is used in construction, farming, power generation and distribution, cable and telecom, railroads, oil well rigs and state or local government lights. Carbide and tungsten are not named, and we do not settle that question here. We pay cash where state law allows, and in Nevada we do not promise cash on any lot worth $150 or more. The three-state rules guide sets Nevada beside California and Arizona.

Sources: Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 647.