U.S. Trash Is Treasure to China Scrap-Metal Hunters

Just before 8 a.m., Johnson Zeng eases his rented Chevrolet into a space in front of Cashâ??s Scrap Metal & Iron in St. Louis. Heâ??s in the market to buy scrap metal he can ship to China, and this is the first stop of the day in the middle of a two-and-a-half-week road trip to regular suppliers that started in Albuquerque and will end in Spartanburg, S.C. But that, Zeng says, is nothing. â??My last trip with Homer,â? he recalls, referring to Homer Lai, the scrap importer in Chinaâ??s Guangdong Province who provides him with most of his business, â??we drove 9,600 miles in 26 days.â?