Scrap Metal For Beginners: How To Make Your First Drop Off Worth It.

I often forget how complex the world of scrap metal recycling can be, especially if you've never recycled metal before. I've been doing scrap metal recycling here in Cincinnati for nearly 20 years now, so when a new customer walks through the door and tells me it's their first time scrapping, I'm eager to help them get started. What I typically find is that they have no idea what is what. I always take a few minutes to help them sort their material and give them a quick crash course on what they have and how to maximize the value. That being said, I decided to put together my own little crash course on getting the most out of your scrap metal.

Scrap Metal is a very general and all encompassing term. Is it ready to be recycled? Is it metallic? Great you've got yourself some scrap metal, but let's go a little deeper.

Ferrous vs. Non-ferrous Metals

This is the ultimate starting point for identifying what kind of material you have. Ferrous metals is just a fancy way of saying Steel. Here at A&A Recycling we have a super scientifically advanced way of telling if your material is in fact scrap steel. We stick a magnet to it. If a magnet sticks to it, it's steel. If a magnet does not stick to it then it is Non-ferrous. It's that easy. So if a magnet sticks to it, set it to the side as your scrap steel pile.

Non-ferrous metals get a little more complicated. This is another general term for "Everything that's not steel"

Copper & Brass Scrap

Copper and brass scrap is among the most valuable metals you can bring into a scrap yard but it's important to know how to keep it all separate. We go into in depth with copper grades HERE but let's get into some quick tips.

Copper is not just copper. Bare Bright is stripped copper wire and is worth the most. Number 1 Copper generally speaking is copper tubing that has no paint, solder, or connectors on it. It also cannot be heavily oxidized (when it turns green). Number 2 Copper can have paint on it, and can also have solder and joints on it. If you have a longer piece of copper tubing that has joints on it, it upgrades your copper from number 2 to number 1 when you cut the joints off. The joints can then be purchased as number 2 copper.

Brass scrap can also get upgraded. If there is still a piece of copper attached to your brass, it can be cut off and scrapped as copper instead of brass. Yellow Brass is any sort of brass that has no other contamination on it such as a steel faucet handle. Brass with other metals attached to it becomes what we call "Mixed Brass", while valuable, it mixed brass scrap prices are a little lower than clean yellow brass prices. If there's any way to clean it up, then it's worth it.

Insulated Copper Wire

Attempting to grade copper wire seems intimidating but it's really not. Yes there are some specific types of wire that need to be kept separate from others such as Romex,Christmas lights, Data Wire (Cat 5), and computer cables, which we can get into in a later post all about wire, but generally speaking, the value of scrap copper wire is based on the percentage of recovery. As a general rule of thumb, if there is more copper than there is insulation (51% or more) then you have Number 1 Insulated Wire. If there is equal or less copper (50% or less) then your wire would be considered a Number 2 Insulated Wire.

When it comes to Number 1 Insulated wire, keeping wire with higher copper contents separate is the key to maximizing your value. Most scrap metal facilities will pay more for insulated copper wire if it has a higher copper recovery percentage (think 80%-90%). That being said, you may need to ask the scale buyer for a better price on your wire. Some recycling facilities purchase all number 1 insulated wire at one set price unless asked otherwise.

Aluminum

Scrap Aluminum has a wide range of grades and values but since we're just beginning, let's go over some of the most common grades. Separating your aluminum sometimes is less about value, and more about making your process as seamless as possible.

Extruded Aluminum

Identifying scrap extruded aluminum is fairly easy. The process of making extruded aluminum is...... yep, extruding. This is where the manufacturer heats up the aluminum and it is pushed through a form, making a long piece of shaped aluminum that is then cut to whatever length they need. Extruded aluminum is typically fairly strong and is used a lot of times in a structural application. A good example of this would be ladders, window frames, or door frames. Scrap extruded aluminum generally falls into one of three categories, New Extrusion, Clean Extrusion, Unclean Extrusion. New Extrusion is going to be unpainted, uncoated, and without any contamination. New Extrusion also will not be closed (square or circle shaped) but is generally flat, "L" shaped or "U" shaped. Clean Extrusion on the other hand, can be closed in shape, painted, or coated, it will cannot contain any other contaminants though, such as screws, or polymer seals. Unclean Extrusion is allowed to contain SOME contaminants, a few small steel screws or seals will be just fine.

Sheet Aluminum

Scrap sheet aluminum is fairly simple. It's made up of rolled sheets of aluminum. Generally speaking scrap sheet aluminum is 1/4 inch in thickness or less. Old siding and gutters, diamond plate, and old cut off scraps from sheets is all considered to be scrap sheet aluminum. As a whole, some very small amounts of contamination is accepted such as old nails or screws.

Cast Aluminum

Another grade of scrap aluminum that gets its name from the manufacturing process is cast aluminum. This type of aluminum is cast into molds instead of extruded or rolled into sheets. One easy way to identify cast aluminum is just in appearance in general. Casted aluminum is sometimes not as smooth to the touch as extrusion or sheet would be. A lot of automotive parts are made of cast aluminum such a valve head covers. Very little contamination is accepted in scrap cast aluminum but most scrap metal facilities will allow some.

Aluminum Breakage

The grade for "Scrap Aluminum Breakage" is kind of a catch all so I am just going to talk in general terms. If your aluminum grade is highly contaminated with steel, or plastic, this would be considered aluminum breakage. This is one of the lower paying scrap aluminum grades. So if you have aluminum grades that can be cleaned of it's contamination, you definitely should do it to maximize your return.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel can be a little tricky but If you're just starting out on your scrap metal journey, here's a very short breakdown on stainless steel.

The two most common forms of scrap stainless steel is 304 and 316. 304 stainless steel is the most common grade that we see from day to day. 304 Stainless is used in sinks, appliances, and other kitchen equipment. 316 Stainless is less common and is used in marine equipment, food processing facilities, chemical tanks, and other specific uses.

Scrap 304 Stainless Steel will generally bring a little less money per pound than scrap 316 Stainless Steel.

Highly contaminated scrap stainless steel will generally fall under the "Unclean Stainless Steel" category. This would be stainless that is heavy in ferrous steel, or any other type of metal, or stainless steel that has plastic or rubber attached to it.

You can use a few clues to tell if you have Scrap Stainless Steel. Stainless sometimes looks like aluminum but will be much heavier. If you have access to a metal grinder, you can easily identify stainless steel by it's spark. Stainless steel when hit by a grinding wheel will throw a few small red sparks as opposed to regular ferrous steel that will throw a lot of long sparks.

That's All For This Time

If you're just starting on your scrap metal journey, we really hope that this short guide has helped. There are plenty of other grades to get into as we go and a much deeper dive into the world of scrap metal is ahead. If you need help or guidance, don't be afraid to call or local scrap metal facility and ask questions, don't be afraid to stop by with some of your scrap and ask for help on identifying your metals. Scrap Metal Recycling Facilities can be scary or intimidating on the outside but I assure you, most of them are ran by people like me, I eat, sleep, and breathe scrap metal recycling, and am always willing to help.

Even if you're not in our area, feel free to call or email us with your scrap metal questions. We'd love to help.

Until Next Time, Keep That Scrap Metal Rolling!