If you see a pick-up truck full of sinks, toilet parts, plumbing pipes, gutters, refrigerator doors and other metal items, common sense tells you that this should at least raise some red flags as to where this haul came from.

Apparently that isn’t always the case as the metal recycling industry continues to unintentionally cater to, or offer little resistance to, those recycling stolen metal.

Something has to be done to regulate this industry and implement better safeguards that hold companies accountable and accurately document what is brought in and the individuals who are bringing it in.

The former Whitwell Elementary building in Ironton was vandalized and burglarized recently as thieves stole virtually anything copper or metal that wasn’t firmly attached to something — and they even stole some of that, too.

Understandably some individuals lawfully recycle metal that they’ve acquired legally. There is certainly a need for this service, but there is also need to be some safeguards as well.

Even basic measures like documenting the driver’s license, vehicle license plate number and materials brought in for processing would be a step in the right direction.

To simply allow criminals to have an essentially unchecked avenue to sell stolen items should be bad for business because it is certainly bad for the community.