How to Find Scrap Metal
Scrap metal is used in many of the products we use on a daily basis. While it may seem overwhelming to be able to find enough, once you start looking you will be able to find plenty to use for projects or to sell to a scrapyard.
Many people don’t know that scrap metals can be sold to local scrap yards, which brings an added benefit of keeping these materials out of landfills and reducing the use of natural resources. Since you are here, you know better and are interested in how to find scrap metal to make some extra money.
Here are some of the best places to help you start thinking of places to find scrap metal items.
Trash
Just a quick drive through a neighborhood on trash day can unearth lots of metal items. Some common items include steel screws, nails, bikes, aluminum cans, mowers, metal chairs and more. While dumpster diving can be profitable, usually larger metal items will be sticking out for the taking.
People doing home renovations may unearth electrical wires. By stripping off the insulation (which will make the wire more valuable, you will uncover bare bright copper wire.
Vehicles
Junk cars are an easy way to get lots of scrap metal, but be sure to get the title if you plan to scrap it. In these junk cars, there are auto parts that may have additional value, outside of the scrap price.
Medical Equipment
Hospitals, Clinics, and Assisted Living Centers, often have scrap from the worn out wheelchairs, crutches, fixtures, etc that can be picked up and sold for scrap.
Appliances
Using sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, you can get free scrap metal by offering to pick up broken or old appliances can be a gold mine. Common household appliances include refrigerators, washing machines, dryers or air conditioners. When they wear out and are being replaced by the homeowner, they usually doesn’t know what to do with them and are a way to make some quick cash. In some cases these items can be fixed, but if not, they have scrap value.
Shooting Ranges
Public or private shooting ranges may have discharged shells to pick up. Brass shells are very a valuable scrap metal.
Construction Site
Construction sites often have lots of scrap metal available. Just be sure to not just go to a house renovation site and take items like brass fixtures, electrical wiring, door handles, sheet metal and more since that’s stealing. Some of the people working at the site may also be selling these scrap metals as well.
Farms
If you are located close to rural areas or farms, metal objects can be found from old dump sites to abandoned cars.
Garage Sales
Garage sales are another rich source of metal. Sometimes the item being sold is priced under it’s scrap value, while other times after the sale, people are happy to give their items away so they don’t have to deal with them any more.
How much is scrap metal worth
The price of scrap metal can vary depending on many factors like demand for particular types of metal, location, whether the metal is separated, etc.
Non-ferrous metal scraps are worth more than ferrous metal due to availability. Popular non-ferrous metals include copper, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, bronze. If you aren’t sure, put a magnet to the metal. More valuable metals aren’t magnetic.
The more common scrap metal is called ferrous metals include alloy, cash iron, wrought iron and more.
Before taking a trip to the scrapyard, be sure to separate the ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals to get top dollar for your metals.
See current scrap metal prices.
Where do you go to recycle scrap metal
The most common place to take smaller amounts of scrap metal is the local scrap metal yard. In most yards, you drive over a scale and they weigh your vehicle when bringing the metal in and again on the way out when weighing the cheap cast iron. For the more expensive and lower quantity metals, you get them weighed individually.
Scrap yards combine all of the individual collections and then sell them to recycling plants.
