How to Prepare Your Scrap Metal for the Yard

A little preparation before you load the ute makes your visit quicker and puts more money in your account. Here's what we suggest.

Sort by metal. Keep copper, brass, aluminium, stainless steel and lead apart from steel and from each other. Each is weighed and paid on its own, so sorting at home means nothing gets paid at a lower grade than it should.

Take off what isn't metal. Plastic, rubber, timber and concrete add weight but aren't paid for, and heavily contaminated metal is graded lower. Unscrewing a plastic handle or knocking off a timber base is usually worth the few minutes.

Strip it if it pays. Clean, bare copper is worth more than copper still attached to brass fittings or covered in insulation. For a small amount of wire it's often not worth the effort, so ask us before you spend an afternoon stripping cable.

Drain anything that held fluids. Motors, gearboxes and machinery should be drained of oil and fuel, and gas bottles need to be empty with the valve removed.

Bring your photo ID and bank details. Victorian law requires us to record the ID of everyone who sells us scrap metal, and we pay by bank transfer rather than cash, so have your BSB and account number handy.