Your Guide to Recycling Metal for Cash

Recycling is good for the environment, but it can also be good for your wallet. Scrap metal recycling centres will pay you for your junk metal, and depending on the type of metal you have you could earn quite a bit. The value of scrap metal is subject to market fluctuations, so it can rise and fall throughout the year, but your local recycling centre can supply you with their current prices.

If you have several types of scrap metal for recycling you should separate them before you take them to the recycling centre. At the recycling centre, each bundle of scrap metal will be weighed and you'll be paid a price per kilogram for each type of metal, but how do you know what metals can be recycled and what metals are the most valuable? Here's an overview of common metals you can recycle for cash.

4 Metals You Can Recycle

The following metals can be taken to a scrap metal recycling centre:

  • Copper—This is a high value metal and is often used for plumbing pipes, radiator fittings, guttering, and electrical wires. It is reddish or bronze in colour and may have green rust spots if it's been exposed to the weather.
  • Brass—This is a medium value metal and is often used for bathroom fittings, door handles and indoor light fixtures. It has a yellowish colour and it's heavy, so even a small amount of brass can earn you a tidy sum of money as it's priced per weight.
  • Aluminium—This is a low-value metal, but you'll find it in abundance around most homes. It's used for window frames, light fixtures, door fixtures, and most food and drinks cans. Aluminium is a silver, whitish colour and tends to dent easily.
  • Steel—This is another low value metal as it's very common. It's often used for shelving, garden chairs, cabinets, and car bodies. Steel is silver and heavier than aluminium.

The Magnet Test

If you're not sure what type of metal you have, you can determine whether it's a high value or low value metal using the magnet test. Ferrous metals tend to be low value and a magnet will stick to these types of metals. They're still worth recycling, but don't expect to earn very much. Non-ferrous metals are worth more than ferrous metals and a magnet won't stick to these types of metal. Even small quantities of non-ferrous metals can earn you some decent spending money.

If you're renovating your home, getting rid of your car or clearing out your garage, don't throw away easy money. Take any scrap metal you have to your local recycling centre like Collins Recycling and earn some cash while keeping the metal out of landfill.


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