Call Us! Rubbish Taxi Logo

Make Money from Scrap Metal? Cha Ching.

If you’ve ever passed by a scrap yard and see the mountains of metal sitting in piles, you’ve probably wondered if those collecting all of that metal actually make any money. Better yet, you probably wonder if you can get in on a piece of that action, and are curious as to how it works in the first place. Make money from scrap metal,While we can’t tell you exactly how much you’ll make since that varies on a lot based on a number of factors, we can tell you a little about how to maximize your profit based on the time and effort you put into scrapping in the first place.

How Do They Measure My Scrap Metal?

All scrap yards are based on weight, and someone will give you money for scrap metal based on weight only. They’ll make sure that the metal being given to them is all metal. Most of the time, you just unload all of the metal by hand, but there is also a large magnet crane in some larger scrap yards that can lift and pick up your metal from a truck. However, these metal cranes can be dangerous, because most cars are also made out of metal. You can see how a slight miss can result in some serious problems.

After that, they simply weigh your metal and cut you a  money check some even pay cash. Some scrap yards give cash for certain amounts, and some scrap yards have money dispensers on site, so the person who originally collects your metal doesn’t actually give you anything of value other than a coupon. Then, you take it to the office to get your money.

How Do They Know How Much My Metal is Worth?

Beyond just weighing your scrap, most metal yards also categorize our scrap into two categories: ferrous and non-ferrous. Ferrous metal is either iron or an iron alloy. It is the most common type of scrap metal. Non-ferrous metal is copper, tin, aluminum, zinc, or any alloy of those or many other metals. Generally, non-ferrous metals are more valuable to the scrapper so they’re more valuable to you, too. This makes  it worth separating these before the weighing process.

Okay, But How Much is My Metal ACTUALLY Worth?

Before making money from scrap the above is always a good question, and while it’s hard to estimate exact pricing – every scrap yard is a little different – in general, ferrous metal is worth $250 AUS per 900 KG. So, for example, your average washing machine might fetch you around $28 AUS, give or take, depending on the age and weight of the washer.

While it can be difficult to make money scrapping, it’s entirely possible with a ton of hard work, some know-how, and some basic knowledge about which metals are which and how to transport them.

contact icon

Give us a call on 02 9573 1112 or fill up the form and we’ll call you back in 5

Get in touch