House moves on cargo theft: recycled materials finally get federal attention

The U.S. House has passed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025, and buried beneath the retail focus is a line that matters a lot to our industry: the legislation addresses cargo theft, including of recycled materials used in manufacturing, as reported by Recycling Today. Trade group ReMA cheered the move. We do too—because whether you run scrap, OCC, plastics, or e-scrap, organized theft has quietly become a line item in your P&L. This bill won’t fix it overnight, but it changes the operating calculus for haulers and processors who can document custody and harden routes—and exposes those who can’t.

Why recyclables are irresistible to thieves

Recycling Today’s report lands in the middle of a multi-year trend: organized groups targeting high-value, easy-to-fence commodities. Baled aluminum and copper, mixed metal Zorba, even clean OCC all move in predictable lanes, often staged in yards or rail spurs with limited overnight security. Trailers sit loaded waiting on scale windows. Drivers texted a pickup address can be spoofed. The playbook is simple: cut a fence, hook a tractor, and a hundred grand in bales disappears before dawn.

Recyclables are also less traceable than finished goods once they’re shredded, baled, or melted. Catalytic converters got headlines; bulk commodities are the quiet harvest. That mix—high value, low traceability, routine schedules—makes our sector a prime target. House passage signals Washington finally sees that pattern, not just stolen sneakers and razors.

What the House bill signals—and what to prepare for

As Recycling Today notes, the bill’s scope includes cargo theft affecting recycled feedstocks. If it ultimately becomes law, expect more coordination across federal and local agencies and, critically, more data-sharing pressure on shippers and carriers. Even before the Senate acts, insurers and big manufacturers will read this as permission to tighten risk terms:

• Stricter chain-of-custody requirements in contracts and inbound specs.
• Evidence of route discipline (no unauthorized stops, geofenced corridors) as a condition for coverage or preferred rates.
• Documentation of trailer sealing, custody handoffs, and yard security SOPs during audits and claims.

That means operators without digital breadcrumbs—seal numbers tied to tickets, timestamped photos, location pings at scale in/out—will be negotiating from the back foot. And if federal task forces start linking theft rings across states, expect more requests for your movement data and faster timelines to supply it.

The near-term playbook: secure, digitize, price risk

Don’t wait for the Senate. There are three places where most operators can tighten up within a quarter:

• Hardening the easy targets: light up yard perimeters, control access, stop staging loaded trailers near fences, and rotate tractors so no logoed unit sits idle with keys in reach. It’s boring, and it works.
• Digitize custody: capture seal numbers and photos at loading, lock routes to geofenced corridors, flag unscheduled stops in real time, and require positive ID at pickup. Tie that data to the scale ticket and BOL so a claim file is ready same day, not two weeks later.
• Price the risk: separate a security surcharge on high-theft lanes and seasonal spikes, and update terms to assign risk at specific custody points (FOB yard vs. FOB mill). Your customers’ risk managers will recognize—and often prefer—the clarity.

If you interline with contract carriers, demand their custody data feed. If you’re hauling to rail, coordinate with the short line on camera coverage and seal practices; a $200 digital seal can save an $80,000 claim.