Just like all other things, metals also face wear and tear until they are no longer useful. Then they are either thrown away or have to be reused. Scrap metal collection is a similar process that involves recycling of discarded metal to protect the environment. In this article, we will tell you more about metal scrapping and how to get started.
Scrapping Metal: A Complete Guide for Beginners
Scrapping can be used as a term in case an object is involved or something intangible as a law or policy. For instance, scrapping of old laws of the time or the act of abolishing an acceptable practice. Scrapping can also mean throwing away products that are no longer usable. These throwable items can now be recycled or given away for money to people who collect such stuff. Now let us learn more about scrapping metal.
What is Scrapping Metal?
The question here really is what is scrap metal and how does it come into existence? It is obvious that no one is producing scrap on purpose then why do we have so much of it? You can blame the humans or machines as no one is perfect and thus during the production or manufacturing of goods that require metal may leave behind scrap.
We all know that every industry deals with wastage be it the food industry where you have leftovers or plastic waste that comes out of various plastic-related industry goods and the same is the case with metals.
Scrap metal can be any metallic material and does not have to be a specific part but it is supposed to be a waste material that has a future where it can be recycled and used again. It can be vehicle parts, building supplies, or any kind of metal.
The distinctive quality is that it can be recycled or at least has some kind of junk value and is not worthless. People might think why should junk have any monetary value but allow us to tell you that the metal recycling industry of the UK alone is a market worth 5.6 billion dollars.
Scrapping metal can be done by hand or with the use of machines dedicatedly built for it. Most times people don’t understand the purpose or importance of scrap metals and discard them away not realizing the mistake they have made in a monetary sense and otherwise.
You can have ferrous or non-ferrous metals that are scrap and based on their recycle value or use they can bring you good money if only you know the difference between the two and deal in them with some knowledge of metal scraps.
Usually, it is the non-ferrous scrap metal that fetches you more value while the ferrous metal brings in less monetary compensation. Brass, Aluminum, and Copper are some of the most in-demand non-ferrous metals that bring in good demand and money.
Steel and iron from cars, chairs, cabinets and other such objects can also bring in good money if you have them in bulk but again since they are not very resistant to corrosion you might have to check for any rusting before you proceed to give it away for money.
Scrap Metal Collection
We mentioned above that scrapping metal can be done by hand or even by using machines dedicatedly built for it, however, if you are interested in making a business out of this then it’s not just scrapping that you can make money from but you can also make money by collecting scrap metals from various places or sources and then selling it off to a party that deals in it.
You must have seen scrap dealers that take junk items from you and pay you money for them, what do they do with them? They sell it ahead and that is what you can do too.
Now you can simply get rid of your scrap and go on with your life or you can take up an interest in the scrap industry and make good money by opting for something known as scrap metal collection.
In this field, you would be assembling various types of scrap from various sources and giving them up for recycling. Sure it sounds easy but collecting scrap is by far the most difficult task and in some cases even risky. You may not have to be a specialist at it but you surely need to take care of certain things before and while the process of collecting takes place.
Before you start collecting scrap you need to have stuff like gloves, safety glasses, safety shoes, reflective vest, welding mask, and a basic first aid kit at the very least. Once you have these you can begin your search for scrap metal in your neighborhood itself.
Now since we have mentioned a list of protective stuff that should give you a hint that you should expect harmful substances that you might come across when scraping metal or looking for scrap metal. It is also better to have tools like a cutter, screwdriver, hammers, etc. that might help you with the task.
Now let’s say you are done collecting everything that you felt has value or can get you money. It is now time to separate the non-ferrous stuff from the ferrous stuff and you can use magnets to segregate them, as the latter will be attracted by a magnet.
After separating the two you can now take them to or contact a dealer of scrap and tell them about the scrap metal collection that you now have with you. You can make them a deal and charge a price that you feel values them perfectly. Once the amounts are agreed the exchange can take place and you would have successfully made money from scrap. Let us now go over some scrapping metal prices.
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Scrapping Metal Prices
There is a range of metal items that can be scrapped and sold for money. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals are just two types of metals that possess different values but even within the two segments, you have various items each of which has a different price. A copper cable might fetch you a certain amount which can be much more or less than what an Aluminum utensil might fetch you. Even the same metal in two different forms can get you different prices, like a Copper sheet and Copper wire bar are both valued very differently.
1. Aluminum Scrap
If you were to sell Aluminum Ingots, not in handful quantities but say a ton of it or so then that would fetch you 1,97,000 rupees as of prices set in the October quarter. However, if you were to sell or buy Aluminum utensil scrap then the price would change to 1,89,000 rupees. This should show you the varying price difference between the same scrapping metal but different items.
2. Brass and Bronze Scrap
If you switch your attention to Brass and Bronze then the money you can earn increases further. Brass Cuttings command a significantly higher price as the scrapping metal prices for them are set at 2,61,000 rupees per ton. And if you consider Brass utensil scrap then the amount increases to 3,50,000 per ton.
3. Copper Scrap
Copper is one of the most sought-after non-ferrous scrap materials and that is you have more objects listed in the category and also are paid almost double or more than what you get paid for Brass and Bronze items. Copper Armature gets you 6,39,000 rupees per ton which are close to the figure of 6,47,000 rupees that you get for one ton of Copper utensil scrap. Copper wire bars fetch you 6,54,000 rupees per ton making it the priciest Copper scrap.
Copper cable scrap is the least-valued scrap with a value of 64,600 rupees per ton. Copper heavy scrap can fetch you a good sum as one ton of it is valued at 6,39,000 rupees and lastly, Copper sheet cutting gets you 3,28,000 rupees per ton.
4. Cupro-Nickel Scrap
On this list, the priciest scrapping metal that we have is Nickel Cathode. If you can manage to get a ton of it and then sell it then you stand to make 19,02,000 rupees from it. While the payday looks good it might be as much more difficult to get that much scrap of this material.
5. Lead Scrap
If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a ton of Lead ingots then you might be able to get 1,81,000 rupees for the same. It might not be as lucrative as other scrap metals on the list because of its price but it might be easier to find than many others.
6. Zinc Scrap
You can also sell and deal in Zinc scrap which would include Tin slabs or Zinc slabs. The two items have very contrasting prices. A ton of Tin slab can fetch you 12,75,000 rupees while on the other hand, a Zinc slab can fetch you 2,72,000 rupees for each ton.
So you see scrapping metal can also bring in good money since the items are priced very attractive. It’s just a matter of opting for the right metal and then going on to find it in bulk.
Scrapping Metal for Beginners
Now it is a known fact that any new industry can be overwhelming for anyone if they have no idea about it or are just entering it and that is also the case with the scrapping industry. For all your knowledge you could still fail if you don’t have the proper resources and knowledge of the field and no one wants that. This is exactly why we have a little something for all those of you interested in this field. We will learn a bit about Scrapping metal for beginners which might be of some help to you.
The first step would be to determine if you are doing this full-time or if it’s just a side hustle. Because that will decide the amount of effort you put into your work and the money you will earn. Scrapping metal can bring you a decent income that is in line with the hourly wage rate at least, so you can pursue it full-time.
Next up would be deciding between taking apart parts or not. Some scrap might have different materials bound together, now you can either separate them or you can keep them together depending on if the money you stand to earn increases or decreases.
Next up you start looking for scrap materials but decide first if it is the non-ferrous metals that you are interested in or ferrous metals. Based on your choice the process of collection, the money you make, and other such stuff can vary. However, it is better to decide beforehand as the efforts needed to be put in are also different for both types of metals.
Also, you should check the price of metals beforehand so that you know the kind of money you stand to make, or else you might feel that your efforts are not being valued appropriately later.
Lastly, you also need to make sure that you get yourself all the important tools that we have mentioned in this article at the start. Safety and precaution are very important in this field of work and so you might have to prioritize it appropriately and make sure to possess all the safety tools when you head out to collect scrap.
You might come across stuff like electric motors, refrigerators, computer towers, sealed units, and more such stuff. At this point, you may thank us later for mentioning to keep with you all safety tools.
Pros and Cons of Scrapping Metal
So throughout the article, we have seen that scrapping metal has various positives like bringing in money for you while also allowing metals to be recycled which means less wastage and more usage for them, however, there are more benefits to the process while there are also some disadvantages for the same both of which we will now look at.
Pros
- The first very obvious and repetitive benefit of scrap metal is that it can fetch you money. Be it non-ferrous metal or ferrous metal both of them fetch you money.
- You can not only make money from scrap metal just once by selling them when you find it lying around the home but you can also make a career on scrap metals and make good money dealing in them so it’s not just bringing on money but also has a business scope.
- People have garages and storage rooms full of worthless stuff back at home. While we call it worthless we all have been guilty of finding something useful along the pile of rubbish time and again.
- In the past, we must have even thrown or discarded spare metal items without thinking much about them but we now know better. These lying pieces of metal are not pieces of waste and also selling them away clears the storage while also helping you make some extra money.
- Manufacturing or producing metals from scratch may not have the best interest of the environment in mind. This is where scrap metal can step on and save the day as you can recycle it and save more natural resources from being used unless it is unavoidable.
- Also, energy is saved when you opt to use scrap metal and this saved energy can be used in some other place.
- A lot of companies are bound by the laws of the country wherein they must make use of scrap metal and can’t just keep using newer metals time and again and so to make do with what they have and to keep following the regulations they might have no option but to turn to scrap metal and so that way it is useful to them.
- Also scrapping metal paints a company as an environmental hero and makes them more likable to the public.
- As mentioned above scrap metals help save the environment but they also indirectly contribute to preserving natural resources. We can keep mining in search of more and more metals and no doubt that we will keep coming across more but then what happens to preservation? So by using scrap metal we are in a way saving non-renewable natural resources, for the future generation.
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Cons
- One of the few disadvantages that you may come across during scrap metal collection is that you will find the process to be time taking. To scrap metals is easier said than done. You may have to spend a lot of time separating metals and classifying them.
- Most times a useful part of metal may be attained after going through a pile of scrap and that makes the process time-consuming and arduous.
- Scrap metal just like normal metal may exist in big quantities and so to carry them you would need appropriate equipment or transportation mode. Understandably these vehicles that will be needed for transporting huge amounts of scrap will also be huge and so they will cause traffic congestion across the city.
- You can just assemble scrap in one place and then start processing or sorting it. You would need a large facility or storage space as well as big money to invest in stuff like this and that is not something that every company or country can afford.
- You might also come across huge pieces or chunks of impure metals when searching through scrap. Breaking it is not that easy and neither is its decomposition quick and that might make the task longer and even more painful to go through not to mention that you also might easily find people who perform this function for you.
- Now we understand that mining is harmful to the environment but then again scrapping metal does not introduce as many job opportunities as mining does and so the grass may be greener on the side of nature but employment wise more jobs would be up for grabs if metals are mined time and again.
So that is all about scrapping metal and its pros and cons. Delving into the world of scrap metal can be a rewarding endeavor for beginners. With a commitment to learning, safety precautions, and a willingness to adapt, individuals can tap into a valuable resource while contributing to sustainability and the circular economy.
