Steel is the number one recycled
metal on earth. Almost every product made in the
world contains some steel.
There are many different grades
and alloys all are worth different amounts. Cast
iron, stainless steel, sheet metal, construction
steel, ect.
Stainless steel: is worth about 5
times as much as regular steel,
Cast iron: is another one that is
usually at a premium because the material is at a
more virgin state, also item like cast iron engine
blocks and machine tools are made from very pure
alloys.
Construction steel: The most
common seen would be I - Beams, Steel plate, and
pipe and tubing. This material is worth more bare
and unpainted. But most salvage companies will
give you a good rate on it either way.
Sheet Metal: This is by far the
most common. Our cars, office furniture, shelves,
soup cans, ect are all made from sheet steel. The
rate for sheet steel is one of the lowest because
if it is painted or plated the recovery rate of
pure alloy is less than with the other forms
mentioned.
CLIPPINGS: These are the sheet
metal slugs from industrial stamping operations.
These are generaly worth more money then clean
steel solids, because they are already in size the
mills can use.
Metal turnings: These are the
shavings left from machining operations. This
material is worth slightly less that construction
steel because of contamination from cutting oils,
and foreign materials.
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Copper and copper alloys such as
Brass and Bronze, have one of the highest cost per
pound rates of non precious metals.
Good copper and copper alloy
sources include: copper pipe, plumbing fixtures,
bronze bearings, copper wire, transformers,
electric motors, copper trim, buss bars, light
balasts, cooking pots, door knobs, circuit boards,
ect.
The great thing about copper and
copper alloys is you don't need very much to make
allot of money. Currently at the writing of this
article copper is at $3.15 per pound.
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