scrap metal and recycling

[fireguywtc]

I need help understanding how recycling scrap metal works and about how much money you get for recycling. I have a pretty good collection of metal lying around doing nothing and want to get rid of it. Is the price per ton? Do the recycling companies perform any tricks to short you on the money that I need to be aware of? Thanks in advance! Bill

[socalcraigster]

I also have metal. Any responses would be helpful.

[Jarred Hodges]

call the local yard and see what the price is. If you feel its fair take it down there and they will buy it. You get paid per hundred pounds around here. I believe its about $7.50 per hundred or $150 a ton around here

[cep62]

Some places pay per ton 2000 lb
Some pay per gross ton 2240 lb

If you have a bunch of engines they're worth more separate from the other sheet iron.

Some people will strip the the blocks for just cast iron but that usually isn't worth the time.
The same goes for auto trannies.

If you have a bunch of aluminum separate it from the other steel, but if it has screws or bolts in it, it lowers the price.

[fireguywtc]

thanks for the replies. I will call the local place tomorrow and see what the prices are. I am looking to scrap my old 67 bed w/tailgate, hood, engine block with crank and cam, misc drum brake parts, cab floors, leaf springs, and a bunch of aluminum cans. There is some other misc stuff I am sure I forgot to mention.

[hazelnut]

Took some scrap metal last week and got $10 per 100lbs at the recycle yard. All steel without anything mix in with it like castiron and such. the first place i went the scales wouldnt give a reading out so i could see the weight, i walked to the window and asked if the light was out but was told they dont show your weight on the scales, couldnt see myself taking thier word on it so i went to the big recycle center and got a few more cents (2) a pound on it.

[OldRedFord]

Here "shredder" scrap is $0.06 a lb. "shredder" being things like lawn mowers, stoves etc. Took a stove, hood, dishwasher, and garage door opener and got $20. Not bad.

I also second on "clean" metal. Take the time to take screws out of aluminum etc. It is worth it in the end.

Some scrap yards will also pay for car batteries.

Call around too. Dont just call one place.

We have a scrap yard here that has a add in one of those flyers you get about one time a month, $0.04 more a lb for scrap steel with coupon.

[fordman]

i had 1080 pounds on the truck friday. i got 72.36 for it. i also kept out the copper and electric motors. the one motor i sold friday got me 4.80. to make the total above. the rest was pure steel and plastic from the washing machines i had. they were paying 125.00 a ton. i still have a big bucket of electric wire to either strip down and sell as clean wire or not strip it and sell it as dirty wire.

[R.Smith]

A few weeks back I cleaned up around the shop and found 350 lbs of lead and about a 400lbs of steel and cast. I usually don't mess with scrap but I thought maybe the lead would be worth something so I called a friend who actually runs an industrial salvage yard. He doesn't deal with the public but keeps up with daily prices so, I figured he'd know what the lead was worth. He told me it was selling for over a dollar a pound. I thought GREAT! So I called a few "public" yards to see what they were giving. Out of 4 yards, 2 didn't take lead, one was giving 10 cents and the other 15 cents per lb.

So I kept the lead and took the steel to my friend and dumped it. The price of steel here is $7.50 per hundred too. Since the wait to get into these yards is usually at least 30 minutes, it wasn't worth the hassle and extra trip on a hot day. Plus I'd burn up half the money I got in bump juice.

Then, a few days later, another friend dropped by for a visit and saw the lead. He gave me $75 for it. Apparently it was pure enough to cast musket balls with. He's into some kind of musket shootin' competition. And M1 shootin competition. And pistol shootin competition. That's why I didn't ask for $100. I didn't want to be part of his next shootin competition.

That pretty much began and ended my foray into selling scrap.

If you're not in a hurry to get rid of it and have a place to keep it, you may want to hang on to it. Right now prices are low. If the economy (world, not just US) ever picks back up, scrap prices will be one of the first things to go up, and they usually go up quick because buyers will be speculating on increased demand. They usually over speculate out of fear of missing out and the price will then drop to a lower norm until demand either picks up further or drops back off.

[fitzwell]

last 2 times i went to the scrap place, i ended up fixing flats. Just not worth it to me. If i see some of the guys i have met in the past doing this, i'll flag 'em down & have them load it up. Usually gets me a beer or two & some pretty interesting stories

[Ranchero50]

Good money right now, aluminum is going for $.50 a lb so $10-15 per aluminum wheel, 302 EFI intakes are worth around $30 each

Batteries at the local battery place, $10 for auto, more for big truck I haven't asked them about straight lead or wheel weights.

Cars are up around $11/100lbs

Shredder is around $9/100lbs

I have no idea what copper is up to, it was over $3 a lb

Brass heater cores are worth more in scrap than new price (chew on that for a minute), brass auto radiators are around $50-70

My brother mows for the county road crew and usually gets several batteries and at least one broken aluminum rim a week during mowing season. Just throws them on the mower deck during the day and into the truck in the afternoon. Calls it 'tip money'.

The aluminum bed I just bought for my '70 F350 is around 2500lbs without the pipe rick so for $400 cash I got $1250 worth of scrap or around $3500 in new material.
Jamie

[fordman]

copper has dopped. its not 3.00 a pound . i think it is 2.50 a pound for clean copper.

[OldRedFord]

copper has dopped. its not 3.00 a pound . i think it is 2.50 a pound for clean copper.

Scrap prices vary from area to area.

[fordman]

that is true. i was givign a comparison of how it has dropped in my area.

[OldRedFord]

Past month shredder scrap has gone down almost by half. From $0.10 a lb to $0.06 a lb.