JAY — A new scrap metal business at the former Otis paper mill is expected to save the town as much as $270 a trip, said John Johnson, supervisor of the Jay Transfer Station and Public Works Department.           

“Business is great,” said Leon Dorr, project and site manager for Riverside Scrap on Mill Street.

There has been a steady flow of inquiries and an impressive amount of material brought in, given scrap metal values, he said.

Mixed metal prices a year ago were $70 a ton; now they’re $30 a ton, he said. 

“We do business with Jay, Livermore Falls, and we’ve fielded calls from other municipalities,” he said.

Jay is taking its recycled metal to the yard.

“We have 8 miles round trip to Riverside and had 100 miles round trip before, so we save 90 miles (plus or minus) per trip,” Johnson said. “At a trucking cost of just $3 per mile, we save $270 per trip. Some figure trucking at $125 per hour, and we’re saving at least two hours so that would be $250 per trip.”

Either way, it is much cheaper, he said.

MAC Development LLC, which bought the Otis Ventures LLC mill property last year, has leased property to Clark’s Cars & Parts. John Clark III of Farmingdale and Hallowell is a principal of MAC Development and owns several scrap metal recycling companies in the state.

The site will serve as an export/shipping hub for all of Clark’s locations, according to permit applications submitted to Jay officials.

There is a 750-foot rail spur on the property so metal can be loaded on train cars and taken to market, Dorr said. 

The business accepts metal from anybody who is at least 18 years old and has a valid government-issued driver’s license, military ID or passport.

“We accept all forms of metal,” including heavy iron, cars, household appliances, copper, brass and aluminum, he said.

The business is about 800 feet off Route 4. To drop off metal, go past the mill buildings to the scale and the new office building, close to the Androscoggin River.

Riverside Scrap is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Dorr said. The phone number is 500-2368.

New staff is expected to start this week, Dorr said. The business continues to accept applications and resumes. 

“The number of staff will be dictated by the success of business,” he said. 

The business used E.L. Vining & Son of Farmington and Castonguay Excavation of Livermore Falls to help build the site.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net