Weight and value are not the same thing in scrap. A ute tray of steel can be worth less than a shoebox of brass fittings. Knowing which is which decides whether a trip is worth making.
Where the money actually is
- Copper, in any form. The best paying common metal by a wide margin. Pipe, wire, bus bar, roofing, older hot water cylinders.
- Brass. Taps, valves, fittings, old door hardware, sprinkler heads. Plumbers throw out a fortune in this.
- Car and truck radiators. The copper and brass ones pay well. Aluminium ones are worth much less, so check which you have.
- Insulated cable. Priced on the copper inside, so thick cable pays far better than thin flex.
- Electric motors. Copper windings inside a steel case, which is why they beat plain steel.
- Compressors. Out of fridges and air conditioners.
Worth bringing, not worth a special trip
- Aluminium. Light for its size, so it takes a lot to add up. Worth including, rarely worth a trip on its own.
- Stainless steel. Sinks, benches, commercial kitchen gear. Less than people expect.
- Plain steel. Low per kilo but heavy, so a real load is worth something.
- Lead acid batteries. Car and truck. Ring for a rate.
The things people throw out that they shouldn't
This is the part worth reading twice, because every one of these turns up on verges across Adelaide every week.
- Switchboards and meter boxes. Copper bus bar inside.
- Transformers. Heavy and copper wound.
- Alloy wheels. Good aluminium, well above general aluminium scrap.
- Taps and tapware from a bathroom strip-out. Brass under the chrome. The plating does not change what is underneath.
- Old extension leads and power boards. Insulated copper, and most sheds have a box of them.
- Brass sprinkler and irrigation fittings. Small, easy to miss, among the better paying things by weight.
What we cannot take
- Gas bottles and anything pressurised that has not been made safe.
- Anything with fuel or oil still in it.
- Fridges and air conditioners still holding refrigerant gas. Degassed is fine.
- Asbestos, or anything bonded to it. No exceptions.
- Paint tins, chemicals, and batteries other than lead acid.
- Anything you cannot show is yours to sell.
If you are not sure, ring
Describe what is in the pile or send a photo. It takes a minute and it saves you either carting in something we cannot take, or leaving behind the one thing that was worth real money.