Over the past two summers I have worked as a garbage man.  It's not the most glorious job.  I picked up trash cans full of maggots, mystery liquid and warm, dirty diapers.  As crappy as the job could be, I also learned a couple nifty secrets, one of which made me some nice pocket change.

This garbage past time was collecting copper.  We smashed open computer monitors, cut wires off of electronics and saved and other little scraps that we could find.  After a week and a half of collecting copper I cashed it in for seventy dollars, and I'm pretty sure I got ripped off.

Now, collecting copper isn't just for garbage men.

The FBI has stated that copper thieves have become a major threat to critical U.S. infrastructure.

With the price of copper having increased by 500% since 2001, people have taken to stealing copper from public structures such as transformers, alarms and irrigation wells as well as construction sites, abandoned warehouses and electric utilities.

If you're a little strapped for cash and want to stay off America's Most Wanted, you can strip down computer monitors and any electronic devices.