Scrap Metal

Poosmate

I was wondering how many aluminium cans or food cans you'd need to make a trip to the scrapyard viable.

I've been living out of my cupboard last couple of weeks using up some grub before the use by date is too out of date and am accumulating quite a few cans. I have to wash them to put them out for recycling so they're all clean and I have the room to be able to store a lot of them so thought I'd keep them and scrap them myself when I scrap my car later this year.

I got to wondering though, if you saved up all of your own household metal for a year and did one trip, how much would you get?

I also have a bit of aluminium too. I have this ocd thing going on about aluminium, cake cases, Roses/Quality Street sweet wrappers, coffee jar seals, takeaway containers etc. but nowhere near enough to scrap yet.

I'm thinking, even if it was to make £50 in a year, it's money for nothing as I have to clean the stuff for recycling anyway!

Any thoughts on this anyone?

Poo

tubster

I've just been to the metal recycling yard; the first time I went I took a load of tent poles, cast iron drainpipe etc. They weighed my car then I unloaded and they weighed it again, and I got 16 quid cash. Today I took a very heavy cast iron bath and about a 2 foot long lead pipe (i am doing up my house). I got 1.50 for the lead and 15 for the bath - it was pretty heavy.
So the answer is to weigh your aluminium that you collect over a month, call the yard and ask what they pay per kilo.

Poosmate

Thanks for your reply Tubs.

I'll be moving work premises soon and where I am going to will be an area where there are several scrapyards so a trip to drop off my loot isn't going to cost me anything really other than the extra petrol I'll use in carrying the extra weight there.

I think I'm going to give it a go. I may as well chuck my cans in a wheelie bin in the garage as put them in a recycling bin each week. To me, even if I only get £10 it's money for almost nothing. I don't see that I have anything to lose.

I'll keep you informed as to what I collect and how much I get when it's weighed in.

Please feel free to add any comments, prices if you have any, or just your thoughts.

Thanks

Poo

Poosmate

Does anyone know what the metal is at the bottom of Pringles tubes? is it aluminium? if so, I have a couple I need to retrieve from the bin!

Thanks

Poo

mrsvodka

This is insane!

We take a car load to the scrapyard every couple of months and do pretty well out of old bits of brass, copper pipes, cable, etc but I never imagined I could weigh drinks cans in. Seriously . . . tin foil and take away conatiners . . ? Our recycling bin is full to the top every collection day and I can't even imagine how much money we have given away.

I've just started collecting foil/cans tonight.

I love this forum!

Poosmate

Morning all, I can't sleep! Might have something to do with the fact I lay down for a rest at 8.50pm and woke up at 3.15am - what's that all about?!

Anyway, I decided to revisit my old Scrap Metal thread.

Mrsvodka, I hope your small scale scrapping is going well as well as your larger scale scrapping. Please let us know how you are doing.

I am still collecting little bits of scrap, cans, tinnies and wires mainly but decided not to put everything in a wheelie bin because a)I don't have one spare and to buy one would probably cost more than the scrap I'll get! b)I couldn't reach the bottom if it anyway and c)I couldn't fit it in the car even if I could lift it! So I decided to use some storage boxes I already have. None are anywhere near full yet but at least they'll be manageable for getting them into the car for weighing in.

My scrap collecting is almost non existant, I am only scrapping the everyday stuff that I use so I don't expect to make much more than £30 this year for my scrap. I don't drink pop or alcohol out of tins so rely on my mates at work giving me their tinnies. The copper wire is from old appliances that I'm throwing out. I'm trying to find a more efficient way of stripping the coating from the wires. The food tins, well, there's only so much tinned food one person can eat and even my cat has decided she won't eat tinned food only the dry stuff (Poo, you've let me down and are not contributing to the household income! lol).

I know to many people reading this (if anyone does) it would appear to be an awful lot of work for very little reward but then I see it as a sort of hobby rather than a moneymaker. Plus I've always loved taking things apart and if I'm feeling down, I'd rather spend half an hour tinkering than well, something else that I used to do that wasn't good for me. I found stripping wires to be therapeutic and focused my mind (had to be careful not to cut myself - there's irony in there as well as copper!).

I still haven't found out what the metal plates at the bottom of Pringles canisters are so if anyone knows please tell!

I wonder if I'll ever branch out to walking the streets collecting tinnies and discarded wiring? I think I'm too much of a snob (albeit a poor snob) to do that yet, my need is not that great and I've seen too many homeless alcoholics doing it (there was a homeless shelter close to where I used to work) so my perception of foraging is somewhat tainted.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now. I'll post back again soon.

Happy scrapping everyone.

Poo

MacsReturns

Poosmate wrote: »

I wonder if I'll ever branch out to walking the streets collecting tinnies and discarded wiring? I think I'm too much of a snob (albeit a poor snob) to do that yet, my need is not that great and I've seen too many homeless alcoholics doing it (there was a homeless shelter close to where I used to work) so my perception of foraging is somewhat tainted.

Poo, if you might feel embarrassed trawling the streets for old cans, I'd suggest you get a plain bag and mark it up with something like "Litter Patrol", and folks will think you're just being community-minded, and not foraging

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I have been doing this for years...

if you are just collecting/saving your tins, then you dont get loads of money, but i allways say its money i wouldnt have had.

The last time i went to the scrappie i had £8:D

this was for alu cans ( the price was £500 a ton)

steel food/drinks cans ( this was £50 a ton)

and some odd bits and pieces, old kiddies bike frame and other metal bits of hubby's lying round the garden( think general was £150 per ton)

was £8 worth it?... yes

We go through roughtly 2 - 3 giant tins of dog food a day, and i worked it out approx 3 of them is a kg, so roughly every day or other day i get 5p:rotfl:

all the can drinks we drink in work we keep.

must admit didnt think of the takeawy foil containers, so will get another bag to collect them in.

we just got diff bin bags for the diff ones... to keep them separate..

alu, and steel.

All i can say is phone for the prices first, as it does change from week to week, about 18 months ago, scrap prices were on the floor, if this happens just hold on to your scrap until the prcies go up again.

you normally find scrap goes down before christmas too, whether this is because this is a traditional time for work places to weigh in hteir scrap for staff beer money etc

Poosmate

Thanks Mac but it's my own perception of it that steers me away from street foraging, although what the neighbours would think does come in to it a bit too. As I said though, my need is not great enough yet (if I get made redundant though I think I'd be out patroling the streets the next day!)

CTC, thanks for that information, I shall call them before depositing. Congrats on getting £8 for your rubbish lol. Regarding the foil takeaway containers, or anything relating to food actually, I always wash immediately as it is so much easier than when the residue has dried on. I've always washed very well too because I was paranoid about mice, rats, foxes hanging around my recycle bins looking for scraps. This habit has continued even though they no longer make it to the recycling bin. Unfortunately, being poor and living alone I don't have many takeaways either now! I think I need to get another lodger, my last one used to have a few tinnies a night and a takeaway at least once a week and he used to bring me one so I'd get the plates warmed, ready and dish it up for him! How often do you weigh in CTC?

Thanks for posting and come back and let us know how you're getting on.

I'll keep you posted as to what I'm scrapping, my sources and what I get for it.

Poo

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i allways wash my tins too, at the end of doing the dishes i leave the dog food ones soak for a minute or too ( while i am having a cuppa) and then just give them a rinse out.

I would say i used to go about every 10 months or so, but now i want to try go more often.

i have just pulled out my recipt for the scrap

i had 12 kgs in alu cans.......£4

steel cans 32 kgs...........£2

cast iron light 20kgs..........£2

I know i could have got more money from other scrappies, but this scrap merchant was the closet on, as it wasnt worth going for hte higher price place, as it would have cost me more in fuel to get there.....

kje_2

I do street/cycle path/canal bank foraging. An empty 500ml can is about 20g in weight so 50 to a kilo. Can easily find 50 on an early morning Sunday walk.