Scrap metal recycling is a big business these days, and many people are collecting materials to take to the recycler for cash. Copper recycling services pay a lot of money at most yards, but you must know what to look for if you are trying to cash in on the scrap metal business. 

Ferrous Versus Nonferrous Metals

Before you can make money at scrap metal recycling, you need to understand the differences in the materials and save the ones that are valuable to recyclers. Ferrous metal is any metal that contains iron in the mix. Steel, cast iron, and many alloys fall into the category, and while they have some value, the amount of reusable material derived from ferrous metals is limited. 

Often ferrous metal prices are far below other materials, but it can still be worth recycling if you have a large amount of material to turn in. The recycler in your area may not want too much of it, so check with them before taking in a load of metal with a high quantity of ferrous metal in it. 

Nonferrous metals are those without iron, like copper, aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, and many alloys made from naturally occurring elements. Many of these materials are easy to find and recycle for a higher price. Aluminum or copper recycling services pay the best, but they may require some work to prepare and separate the materials to get the best price possible.

Scrap Value

When trying to sell scrap metals to aluminum recycling services or any scrap recycler that is buying nonferrous metals, it is essential to watch the scrap prices carefully. Metals with a higher value will often have fluctuating prices depending on the needs in the marketplace. Because nonferrous metals can be recycled multiple times with no degradation to the material properties, things like copper are reused over and over to reduce the impact caused by mining the material. 

Ensuring the metal is sorted and clean makes copper, aluminum, and other nonferrous materials more valuable because there is lease work for the copper recycling service to do once they receive the metal. If there is an aluminum or copper recycling service in your area, talk to them about what they buy and how they like it to come in. 

Most services are happy to tell you how to get the best price, and when you take a little extra time working with the material, you can make a day's work far more profitable with the same recycled materials because you separated or sorted the metal before taking it to the scrap yard.