Getting the Best Price for Scrap Aluminium

Aluminium turns up everywhere: old window frames, pergolas, ladders, boat parts, lawn mower decks and the cans from a summer of barbecues. It's light, so it doesn't look like much on the trailer, but every kilo is worth far more than steel.

Make sure it's aluminium. It's light, silver-grey and a magnet won't stick to it. Stainless steel looks similar and a magnet won't stick to most of it either, but it's much heavier for its size. Aluminium weighs about a third as much as steel.

Know the grades. Clean extrusion, such as window and door frames, pays best. Sheet, plate and old signs are graded on their own, and so are castings like engine heads and gearbox housings. Alloy wheels are a high grade of their own once the tyres, weights and valve stems are off.

Strip the frames. Window frames with the glass, rubber seals, flyscreen mesh and steel screws removed are paid at the clean price. Left on, they pull the grade down, and broken glass is a hazard in the yard.

Keep the grades apart. A bag of cans, a stack of frames and a box of castings each get their own price. Tipped in together, the whole lot is paid at the price of the lowest grade.

Take eligible cans to CDS Vic. Victoria's container deposit scheme pays a 10c refund on each eligible drink can, which is far more than it's worth as scrap. We'll take the cans that aren't eligible along with the rest of your aluminium.

Drain the oil from any engine parts, then bring it all to our Hallam yard. We'll grade it, weigh it and pay you by bank transfer.