Recycle your old scrap metal and make money doing it
Video Journalist
Friday, June 15, 2018, 2:20 PM - Old electronics. We all have them, but most of us don’t know what to do with them. We put them in boxes, we store them in drawers or we move them to the garage so we don’t have to look at them. Scrap metal yards have existed forever, but many of us don’t know that you can take your old electronics to these places to have them recycled and even better, make a few bucks in the process.
Scrap metal recycling plants will take anything from appliances to car parts and anything in between. Find an old brass chandelier or take down your aluminum railing? You can drop those off too. How about that television from the 90’s that you’re not using anymore? Yep, drop it off.
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Most scrap yards will accept:
- Copper
- Aluminum
- Brass
- Insulated Wire
- End-of-Life Electronics
- Stainless Steel
- Nickel Alloys
- Nickel
- Carbide
- Titanium Steel
- Cast Iron
- Auto Cast
- Lead
- Lead Acid Batteries
- Electric Motors
- Transformers
- Ballasts
- Radiators
There are certain things that need to be considered when determining the value of the metal. Weight is an important one. The money that you'll receive can depend on how much your stuff weighs. The more it weighs, the more you'll get. Some other things to consider:
THE GRADE OF METAL, because every metal has a number of different grades, each developed for specific applications.
THE COMMODITY PRICE of the metal, which can change several times a day, in concert with supply & demand for the metal, commodities trading and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
THE STATE OF THE METAL i.e. whether it has been properly sorted and cleaned of other types of metals or contaminants such as plastic or insulation.
THE TRAVEL FACTOR meaning whether the metal is delivered to us or we have to pick it up.
There are also things that will NOT be accepted by most facilities:
- Mercury
- Hazardous or toxic waste
- Scrap containing non-metallic materials
- Recyclables or excessive trash
- Automobiles
- Non-lead acid batteriesMagnesium turnings
- Radioactive sources
- Pop cans
So the next time you dive into spring cleaning or when you decide to upgrade your computer or Smart Phone, don’t just toss it out on the curb or store it in a drawer. Think about the 3 R’s -- Reuse, reduce and recycle -- and drop it off to a scrap metal facility.
SOURCE: Peel Scrap Metal Recycling
