Making Money With Scrap Metal Recycling
Recycling scrap metal can be a lot of work, but if you have the tools and time to do it, you can make some extra money with scrap metal recycling. Recycling is an excellent way to help clean up discarded materials in your area as well.
1. Know What Should Be Recycled
There are many metals that can be recycled, and most recycling yards will tell you what they need if you ask, but the most common materials recycled are steel, aluminum, copper, and tin. There are different classifications for the material, so it is essential to know what you have so you can determine what the price is going to be.
An aluminum window frame with steel screws or rivets in it is still aluminum, but because the scrap yard will need to separate the steel, they would classify this as dirty aluminum. It can still be recycled as is, but the classification will change the price.
2. Get the Best Price
Often, scrappers trying to sell enough metal to make a full-time living in the industry spend a lot of time cleaning and separating materials before they take it to the scrap metal recycler. They will also often hold material until the price is at its peak and take in large amounts of metal to take advantage of the higher rate.
Scrappers that are recycling full time will even take the time to take the coating off wires and strip windows of the weather, removing to make sure they are getting the best price possible for the material. If you are recycling as a hobby, you may not want to spend that much time prepping the metals and watching the market, but if you do, you can make some extra cash for other projects or help with household costs.
3. Consider Fundraising Through Recycling
Some non-profit organizations use scrap metal recycling to raise money for their foundation or organizations in the form of aluminum cans. Collecting and recycling cans can be profitable, but it takes a lot of cans to add up to enough weight to make much money from them. If you can get a group of people to work together to collect and recycle the cans, you can make some decent money from them.
Fundraisers that use cans to raise cash depends on people bringing the cans in. Because they can get so many people to bring in their cans, they can make decent money for the charity or cause they are fundraising for. Talk to the recycler about the event, and they may even add a few cents to the price if you are recycling for a cause.
For more insight on scrap metal recycling, contact companies like Falcon Metals.