Scrap Yard Software Glossary

Plain-English definitions for every term recycling, scrap-metal, and CRV operators need: CRV, LPR, ATM tickets, ferrous, ISRI grades, NMFC, EPR, Prop 65, and more.

All Terms

• 1099 — The IRS form (1099-MISC / 1099-NEC) used to report payments of \$600+ in a calendar year to non-employee sellers — including scrap-metal sellers in many states.
• AI Vision — Computer-vision AI built into a scale-software stack — driver-license OCR, license-plate recognition, material classification, and BOL/manifest reading.
• ATM Ticket — A scrap-purchase transaction settled by dispensing cash from an on-site ATM-style machine instead of writing a check or printing a kiosk voucher.
• Auto Data Direct (ADD) — Florida's state-mandated electronic reporting system for secondary-metals recyclers (SB 540 / SMRA).
• BOL (Bill of Lading) — The legal shipping document that travels with every outbound load — proves what's being shipped, who shipped it, who's carrying it, and where it's going.
• Bottle Bill — Common name for state container-deposit laws that put a refundable deposit on beverage containers — active in 10 US states and most of Canada.
• CRV (California Redemption Value) — A per-container deposit California consumers pay when buying eligible beverages and recover when returning empties to a certified recycling center.
• CalRecycle — The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery — the state agency that runs CRV, certifies recyclers and processors, and audits monthly DR-6/DR-14 reports.
• Catalytic Converter — An emissions-control device on internal-combustion vehicles whose interior honeycomb is rich in platinum, palladium, and rhodium — making it the most-stolen scrap item in the US.
• DR-14 — CalRecycle's monthly Processor report — required of every California CRV processor (the next step up the chain from a recycling center).
• DR-6 — CalRecycle's monthly Recycling Center report — every California CRV recycler files one per location, per month.
• E-Waste — Discarded electronic equipment (computers, monitors, phones, TVs) — regulated under both RCRA (federal) and state e-waste laws.
• EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) — A regulatory framework that makes the original product manufacturer financially responsible for end-of-life collection and recycling of their packaging or product.
• Ferrous — Iron-based scrap metal (steel, cast iron, HMS, shredded auto bodies) — magnetic, lower value per pound than nonferrous but moved in much larger volumes.
• Form W-9 — The IRS form a scrap yard collects from a seller to record their legal name, TIN, and tax classification before issuing a 1099 at year end.
• Gross / Tare / Net — The three weights on every scale ticket: Gross (loaded truck), Tare (empty truck), Net (load only) = Gross − Tare.
• HMS (Heavy Melting Steel) — The two most-traded grades of obsolete steel scrap — HMS #1 (clean, ≥1/4" thick) and HMS #2 (galvanized/coated, mixed) — that mills consume by the rail-car load.
• ISRI Grades — Industry-standard material grade codes (e.g. Barley, Birch, Honey) defined by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries that tell mills exactly what they're buying.
• LME (London Metal Exchange) — The world's primary futures exchange for non-ferrous and minor metals — the price-discovery engine for copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, and tin.
• LPR (License Plate Recognition) — Camera-based AI that automatically reads vehicle license plates as trucks enter or exit the scale, eliminating manual data entry.
• Lead-Acid Battery (LAB) — Automotive and industrial batteries containing lead and sulfuric acid — regulated under federal universal-waste rules but exempt from full RCRA hazardous-waste handling.
• LeadsOnline — A nationwide law-enforcement database that scrap dealers and pawnbrokers upload daily transactions to so police can trace stolen goods.
• Load Cell — A transducer that converts force (the weight pressing down on a scale deck) into a tiny electrical signal that the scale indicator reads and displays.
• NMFC (National Motor Freight Classification) — The standardized freight-class catalog used by LTL carriers in North America to price every shipment by density, stowability, handling, and liability.
• NTEP — The National Type Evaluation Program — the certification process every commercial scale in the US must pass to be used for legal-for-trade transactions.
• Nonferrous — Non-iron scrap metals — copper, aluminum, brass, stainless, lead, zinc — higher value per pound than ferrous and subject to stricter ID/anti-theft rules.
• Prop 65 — California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 — requires warnings on products and at facilities that expose consumers to listed chemicals.
• R2 Certification — A voluntary certification (Responsible Recycling Standard) that e-waste recyclers earn to prove they meet environmental, health, safety, and data-security standards.
• RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) — The federal law that governs how hazardous waste is generated, transported, treated, stored, and disposed of — administered by the EPA.
• Redemption Center — A state-certified facility where consumers return beverage containers and receive the CRV/deposit refund in cash.
• SMRA (Secondary Metals Recycler Act) — Florida's 2008 nonferrous-recycler law — registration, ID capture, hold periods, and electronic reporting through Auto Data Direct.
• Scale Indicator — The digital display unit ("indicator head") that reads weight from a load cell and outputs it via serial, USB, or Ethernet to the ticketing software.
• Scale Ticket — The primary transaction record at a scrap yard or weigh station — captures who, what, weight, price, and signatures for one inbound or outbound load.
• Scrap Pricing — The daily- or weekly-changing price list a yard applies to inbound and outbound loads — driven by mill demand, LME indices, and regional supply.
• Seller ID Capture — The legally required process of scanning, photographing, and storing a government-issued ID for every nonferrous or regulated scrap transaction.