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Scrap metal sitting in your garage, barn, or job site has real dollar value attached to it, and knowing which metals bring the highest scrap value means you walk away with more money than if you just load everything up and hope for the best. Prices shift with the market, but some metals consistently outperform others. Understanding the difference is worth your time before you make a trip. M&M Recycling works with everyone from contractors clearing a job site to homeowners cleaning out decades of accumulated metal, and we want you to get the most out of every load you bring in. Keep reading to find out what's worth the most and why.
Copper holds the top spot in scrap metal recycling because demand for it never lets up. Electrical systems, plumbing lines, HVAC equipment, and industrial motors all rely on copper, and manufacturers pay a premium to keep their supply chains stocked. The demand drives the price higher than almost any other common scrap metal.
Copper comes in several grades, and the grade you bring in determines your payout. Bare bright copper is clean, uncoated, and unalloyed, so it earns the highest rate. Number 1 copper includes clean pipe and wire with no fittings or solder. Number 2 copper covers pipe and wire with some oxidation, coating, or solder attached. Knowing these distinctions before you sort a load can add more money to your check.
Strip the insulation from copper wire before you arrive if you can. Insulated wire pays less per pound because the scrap metal buyer in Mableton has to account for the weight of the coating. Clean copper is worth the extra few minutes of prep work. If you're pulling wire from a renovation project, even a basic utility knife and a few passes can move your material from a lower grade into a higher-paying category.
The first thing any scrap yard evaluates is whether your metal is ferrous or non-ferrous. Ferrous metals contain iron. A magnet is the fastest way to tell the difference because ferrous metals stick and non-ferrous metals don't.
Non-ferrous metals consistently command higher prices. Copper, aluminum, brass, bronze, and stainless steel all fall into this category. Ferrous metals like steel and cast iron pay less per pound, but they can still add up when you're hauling in volume. Sheet iron, structural steel, and old appliances are all worth separating and bringing in rather than sending to a landfill.
Keeping ferrous and non-ferrous loads separated before you arrive saves time at the scale and makes the grading process faster. Mixed loads take longer to process, and that can affect your payout if contamination is factored into the price. When you haul in two clearly separated loads, the grader can price each one accurately, and you don't lose money because a few steel bolts ended up in your copper pile.
Brass and bronze are both copper alloys, but they price out differently, and misidentifying them costs you money. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It shows up in plumbing fixtures, valves, fittings, and musical instruments. The color runs from yellow to gold. Bronze is a copper and tin alloy, darker in tone, and found in bearings, bushings, marine hardware, and decorative castings.
Both metals rank well in scrap metal recycling, sitting below copper but above most grades of aluminum. Brass pays slightly more than bronze in most markets, so separating them before you arrive at a scrap metal company is worth doing. When you're unsure which you have, check the color and weight. Bronze tends to be denser and darker. If you're still not sure, bring both and ask the yard to identify them before you finalize the sale.
Clean brass and bronze, free of iron fittings or steel attachments, earn a better rate. Pull out any steel screws, bolts, or inserts before you load up. A few minutes of prep translates to a higher payout at the scale. Valves and fittings with brass bodies but steel or iron components are a common source of confusion, and separating them before you arrive will put more money in your pocket.
Sorting your metal before you arrive is the single most effective way to increase what you earn. A mixed, unsorted load gets graded at the lowest value metal in the mix. Separating your copper from your aluminum, your brass from your steel, and your clean material from your painted or coated material puts you in a stronger position. Here's what to do before every trip:
Bring everything in dry when you can. Wet loads can weigh more, and some scrap metal buyers discount for moisture. Dry, sorted, clean metal gets graded faster and priced better. If you've been storing material outside, give it time to dry before loading it up.
Call ahead if you're hauling a large load or an unusual item. A reliable scrap metal company will tell you what to expect before you make the drive. One call can clarify pricing, confirm accepted materials, and help you decide whether to make a trip. It also gives the yard time to prepare if you're bringing something oversized or a higher quantity.
Aluminum sits below copper and brass in the pricing hierarchy, but it's one of the most common metals that people haul in. Volume can make it worth the trip. Cast aluminum, which comes from engine blocks, wheels, and heavy equipment parts, pays more per pound than sheet or extruded aluminum. Aluminum cans pay the least per pound of all aluminum types, though they're easy to collect in large quantities.
Clean aluminum earns more than painted or coated aluminum. Window frames, screen doors, and siding all contain aluminum, but paint and coating lower the grade. Stripping what you can or separating clean extrusions from painted pieces gives the scrap yard a clearer picture of what you've brought and prices each grade accordingly.
Aluminum is also one of the most recycled materials in the scrap metal industry because the energy required to recycle it is a fraction of what it takes to produce new aluminum from raw ore. That efficiency helps to support consistent demand from manufacturers, which keeps aluminum prices relatively stable compared to some other metals. When copper prices spike, and more people haul it in, aluminum can become a reliable fallback.
Bring your sorted load to M&M Recycling and get paid the same day. We buy copper, aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, and ferrous metals, and we price every load fairly based on current market rates. Whether you're a contractor wrapping up a job site or a homeowner clearing out a garage, we make the process fast and simple. M&M Recycling is a local scrap metal buyer that treats every customer the same, whether you're hauling in fifty pounds or five tons.
