Having a household that routinely recycles can not only benefit the environment, but can actually be a benefit to you. Although scrap metal yards receive most of their metal from large companies that have tons of excess metals, they actually encourage people to come and recycle their scrap metals. As an additional benefit, most scrap metal yards will compensate you for the scrap. Recycling metal actually brings in quite a good sum of money, but knowing what to recycle is important.
Knowing your metals
Metals are generally quite easy to recycle, but recycling the right type of metal can help you make the most out of it. Different types of metal have different values and it’s a good idea to sort them out accordingly. An easy way to assess whether your metal has any value is to use a magnet. A magnet can help you sort out the junk from the really good stuff. If your metal attracts the magnet it means you have ferrous metal, if it doesn’t it means it’s non-ferrous. Ferrous metals are your steel and iron, they aren’t worth very much. So you want to be accumulating more non-ferrous metals like brass, copper, bronze or stainless steel to see some actual money.
Copper
At its prime, copper has a red tint to it and when it is older it’ll turn dark brown with green rust. Copper is one of the most valuable metals and can be found in any household. It is mostly found in air conditioners, electrical wires, and roofing materials. It may not be as common as other metals but it’s good to remember not to throw it out when you find it.
Aluminum
Although aluminum metals are very light, they are the most common metals to be found in your household. They are used in virtually everything, from kitchen items to roofing materials. It isn’t worth a lot because it’s light and commonly used, but it accumulates easily. To get the price of scrap metal be sure to call a reputable place that will give you a fair price.
