After state legislators passed a law tightening restrictions on metal recycling, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office will start keeping closer tabs on local recycling companies.

The new law, which went into effect July 1, requires secondary metal recyclers to register with the sheriff and retain records on purchasing metal.

Recycling companies will have to photograph the metal they collect and the people who sell it to them. Those records will be reported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which will maintain a database.

There will also be tighter regulations on who can sell some materials such as air conditioner coils, burned copper wire and burial materials.

Today, the Hall County Board of Commissioners will vote on how much to charge recycling businesses to register.

Counties can charge up to $200 for the registration, with half of the money going to the state and the rest staying with county government or local law enforcement.

Metal theft has been a “significant issue” in Hall County, said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s investigators are called to the scene of some sort of metal theft almost weekly, Wilbanks said.

In addition to air conditioning units and construction equipment, Sheriff’s Maj. Woodrow Tripp told commissioners that thieves have even stolen brass urns from gravesites.

“You name it,” Tripp said. “If it’s metal, pretty much someone is stealing it.”

Law enforcement officials believe the database could help curb those thefts by keeping a record of metal sellers.

“It’s going to give law enforcement agencies another tool to combat theft,” he said.

The database would also give investigators a chance to look for stolen items across the state.

Local recycling companies declined to comment for this story, but an organization representing state recycling businesses largely supports the new measures despite the increased regulation.

Chip Koplin, president of the Georgia Recyclers Association, said, “We were all for the requirement to register all of the recyclers. We’re very comfortable with the tighter regulation on the air conditioner coils and burned copper. We think those items should help significantly on the issue.”

Koplin, who is also the governmental and public affairs manager for recycler Schnitzer’s Steel Southeast, said recycling companies also have a stake in preventing thefts. He said recycling plants are often the victims of burglaries.

That’s not to say recyclers like every aspect of the new law. Koplin called a provision that banned recycling companies from buying scrap metal with cash an overreach by lawmakers.

He adds that too much emphasis is put on regulating recycling companies and not enough on the criminals who carry out the thefts.

“Unfortunately, the industry does have a less-than-fair reputation,” he said. “A lot of times we’re compared to pawn shops, which isn’t a fair comparison.”

Koplin argues the industry helps the environment by keeping a lot of materials out of landfills and helps the economy with thousands of jobs and a $4 billion impact on the state.