if its in a junky pickup truck headed towards a recycling center. i would take a guess that is going to be melted down.
there are a couple of metal recycling places by my house. they tend to get people with grocery carts of scrap and there is at least one pickup truck that collects scrap metal that is parked around the corner almost every evening.
mostly these people are either homeless or close to being homeless. they (at least the shopping cart guys) get their stuff from alleys and people's trash. they tend to hit the 15 or so residential dumpsters (the smaller ones) in my alley at least every hour or two once it gets warmer.
by my place i have also heard stories -- probably urban myths, but maybe not -- that if they get too much stuff with other materials on it, like wire, they will make a pile and set it on fire to burn everything off.
i also remember reading an article in the reader (i think, maybe the tribune or sun times) about how man whole covers were being stolen and taken to recycling centers because the scrap metal prices are up from demand in china and other asian countries that need it to make steel.