People ask what we actually do with it, usually half expecting the answer to be disappointing. It is not. Metal is the rare case where recycling does exactly what it says on the tin.
The journey
- Weighed and graded. Sorted by metal and by grade, which is why a sorted load is worth more than a mixed one.
- Processed. Cut down, stripped where it needs it, and baled into consistent lots.
- Sold on to a smelter or mill. Some in Australia, some exported, depending on the metal and who is buying.
- Melted and recast. Into new stock. Copper cathode, aluminium billet, steel bar.
- Back into manufacturing. New wire, new pipe, new car parts, new construction steel.
Why metal is different to other recycling
Most materials degrade when they are recycled. Paper fibres shorten. Plastic gets weaker every cycle until it cannot be used for anything. Metal does not. Copper melted down is identical to copper from the ground, and it can go round indefinitely.
That is also why scrap is not charity. A smelter pays for it because using it is cheaper than digging up ore. The whole chain runs on that one fact.
Why the price you get moves
We buy at a margin under what we can sell it on for, and what we can sell it on for is set by the global metal markets, mostly priced in US dollars.
- World demand goes up, scrap prices here go up.
- The Australian dollar falls, scrap prices here go up even if the world price has not budged.
- Both can move in a week, which is why nobody can quote you a rate that holds for a month.
If a yard is quoting the same number all year, they are either not following the market or they have built a buffer in big enough that you are wearing it.
What this means for you
Two practical things. Ring for a current price rather than working off a number you saw somewhere months ago. And if you have a big load and no deadline, it is a traded commodity, so timing is not nothing.
For most people it is not worth sitting on a pile waiting for a market move. But it is worth knowing the number you are quoted is a real market number and not one someone made up.