Earning Cash for Scraps: How to Identify Metal Scraps for Recycling

Recycling is not only an effective way to help the environment survive the amount of waste material that get thrown away daily, but is also a smart way to earn extra cash for scraps and other recyclable items. In Australia, for example, every household produces at least 400 kilograms of waste material each year, which may translate to huge amounts of cash if every Australian were to recycle usable waste.

According to the website Benefits-of-Recycling, in 2002 to 2003 alone, people in New South Wales generated about 12 million tonnes of solid waste, and almost half of them were recycled. The country has been increasingly raising its recycling efforts, especially during Australian clean-up days. One of the ways you can help in the overall bid to recycle is to sell scrap metal to metal recycling services like Global Resources International Pty Ltd.

Frequent Metal Recycling Questions

Earth911 offers the following tips for identifying scrap metal and how to go about recycling them:

What kinds of metals can be sold to scrap yards?
Scrap yards generally accept ferrous and non-ferrous metals like aluminium, brass, copper, iron, steel, and wires. Although steel and iron may not garner that high a price in some yards, they are still accepted for recycling.

How will I know which type of metal I have?
The best way to identify the metal you have is to use a magnet. Metals that stick to your magnet are ferrous metals, and they typically fetch a lower price than non-ferrous ones. If you’re keen on turning your scrap-scavenging practice into a moneymaking venture, the ones you’d want to find at home (or other homes) are the non-ferrous metals.

Non-ferrous metals—the ones that don’t stick to your magnet—include aluminium, brass, bronze, copper, or stainless steel. Examples of these are old copper cables, copper dust and chips, scrap transformers, scrap motors, insulated wires, aluminium cans, aluminium siding, and car rims, others.

How do I proceed with disposing metals for recycling or reuse?
Metal and plastic recycling businesses such as Global Resources International Pty Ltd can pick up scrap metal for free through metal collection services. There are also drop-off bins where you can deposit your materials for recycling. You may likewise bring your materials to the warehouse where it can be weighed onsite.

Recycling is not just a good way to help preserve the environment, but is also a hassle-free means of earning extra cash. If you have plenty of scrap metal in your community that you have no use for, find a new home for them in scrap yards where they could be put to better use.

(Source: “Frequent Metal Recycling Questions”, Earth911.com)

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