Safety Concerns

Scrapping metals can be a good way to supplement your income for a good bit of work and a little extra money. The last thing you want is your side hustle costing you a trip to the ER and missing time at your day job.

Take your time and be smart. Simple tips we all know but it's always worth repeating:

-Gloves are your friend. Dont go out picking up rusty, trashy, dirty looking metal with your bare hands. Reference the supply list if you need a refresher but be smart. Seriously.

-Watch for electrical components(eg. hot wires, batteries, etc) and other hazards. Don't rip apart your burt up vacuum still plugged into the wall. Don't try and strip the wire off that cord cutting towards your face. And seriously, don't try and lift that 300lb beam by yourself. . . As you can imagine, it's simple things but sometimes you get in too big a hurry and do stupid crap for no good reason.

-A dirty or otherwise messy worksapce invites accidents. Clean up your space. Put your crushed soda cans in their bag or bucket so you don't slip and fall. Wipe up the grease spot from that piece you pulled off your buddies car earlier. . . I hope it's clear, I just need to say it for you to see.

I hope the take away today is simple. Be smart, wear gloves, take your time, think about what your doing and stay relatively tidy. It's a business you get dirty and not a lot of money in it these past few years. Just because it's a dirty business, however, doesn't excuse being an idiot. If you do it, do it right and do it safe.

Precious Metals

Precious Metals

The holy grail of metals, so to speak, is the precious metals. These metals, most you probably know about, are gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. These are the top dollar items. Finding these metals, as you can imagine, is not easy. 

Gold

Gold is very valuable and an excellent metal to pick up, if you can get your hands on it. Jewelry is the best source but don't expect it to be free. Instead, in my e-scrap post, I mentioned that electronics parts like RAM sticks and cell phones are excellent sources to begin looking to collect gold.  You will collect very little per item so the time working to collect it may or may not be worth it depending on how hard you work and how much you can get. 

Silver

Silver, while typically much less valuable than the other metals, is more abundant than the other metals. Silverware, pins, jewelry, old awards, medals, coins, plaques, and some decor items like old candle sticks can be silver or silver plated. Check to make sure it is either ".925" or says "sterling" to assure you have valuable silver.

Platinum

Platinum is another precious metal but less commonly know than gold or silver. Mostly, you would think it as a plating on some jewelry but there are many surprising places to find it. Catalytic converters and electroplates are more common sources. A great and more extensive list can be found here.

Palladium

The largest place palladium is used is in catalytic converters. Palladium is also used in jewelry, in dentistry, watch making, in blood sugar test strips, aircraft spark plugs and in the production of surgical instruments and electrical contacts. Palladium is also used to make professional transverse flutes. The source for this is here.

... Rhodium too

Ok, so rhodium didn't make the short list. It may or may not make it on your list of metals but rhodium is quite rare and has many uses. This rarity and utility means it is expensive and usually alloyed with platinum in catalytic converters or alloyed/plated on jewelry to help prevent corrosion. You won't stumble on a large cache of rhodium but a little work finding it will pay off as the rarity makes it pricey.  

Storage Ideas

Storage Ideas

When it comes to storing your scrap(which can quickly amass to fill a room) storing your scrap and keeping it sorted is a must. Some layer of security is in order as well since people will steal your metal. Some creative solutions I have found out myself and others through a little research.  

Storage Solutions I use

• 5 gallon buckets- These nifty little bucket are frequently deep enough, sturdy enough and easy to label. I use these to hold my sorted out scrap. My labels include copper(clean and coated), iron/steel(ferrous metals), aluminum, tin(exclusively tin cans), and mix metals. I'm not a huge scrapper so these are a cost effective solution for my size.  

• Shed- I am lucky enough to have a shed outside to store my buckets and lock up a lot of my more valuable metals. It also allows me to store large pieces of metal like a muffler or furniture springs around it. I live out in the country so metal theft is not common as neighbors are few and far between. I really care about my copper, aluminum and e-scrap collection as these are valuable so a lock is placed on the shed. "Locks keep honest people out," is the saying I've heard and I'd like ti think there's mostly honest people out there.

Other storage solutions

• Yard- If you live "way out there", your large yard away from your neighbors can serve you just as well. Just throw down a tarp or put up some markers and you can sort out large quantities of metal. 

• Totes- Old plastic totes that used to store toys when you were a kid are also great items to sort out your metals. They are large and are good enough for a few pounds of metal. Just be careful, they can be brittle and break if you throw too much in them.

• Rooms or closets- Use an empty room or closet to store your metals(preferably in some kind of container). This is primarily the solution if you live in a more residential type setting and have limited or no outdoor space. 

Concluding, many solutions are available to the storage of your scrap metal. This tentative list is but a few of the dozens of options you have. Check and see which of them is right for you.   

To Sell or Scrap?

To Sell or to Scrap?

Most scrap items, like appliances, I have mentioned before have intrinsic value in the form of their metal bits and pieces. They also have extrinsic value in the form of their functionality, like a microwave heating up food or drink placed inside of it. The extrinsic value is also slightly but wholly(unless it's retail priced) reflexive of the labor and overhead involved in making the item a functional and valued piece. The intrinsic value is, no more and no less, the market value of the metal to a scrap yard. The disparity in price is when you must decide, to sell or to scrap? 

To help answer this question, I have created a few guidelines to at least try and help you decide which is easiest and best for you.

When to Sell

Starting off when to sell, I'll define what I mean. Scrapping and selling are actually similar but different. Selling will be the item, say an old refrigerator, is taken in to a pawn shop or sold to a relative/neighbor/friend/etc. in working condition for its extrinsic value. I say working condition because it is far more valuable when it is working. Here are a few guidelines to check off when selling vs. scraping:

•  Value: Is the item worth the effort to fix it, if it is broken? Will the effort justify the money and time? Unless it works alright, the answer here, yes or no, will answer sell or scrap.

• Demand: Does someone already want it and you can fix it up for a quick flip or is "everyone" into a newer, better, cheaper alternative? The menagerie of small and large appliances at your local pawn shop may help you answer if you can sell that old fridge and the internet will help give you a starting price.

   

Scrapping

Scrapping an item, like a fridge, is taking it to either a scrap yard or selling the METAL for its market value to another person. This is the intrinsic value. The condition of the item is ineffectual to the price. A few things to consider for scrapping are:

•  Condition: An item that is in crappy condition, beat up, rusted and not working is more than likely scrap. Look at the item and ask yourself, would you buy that? Can it be fixed up quick and cheap? That is your answer to sell or scrap. 

• Transport: Can you easily transport the item effectively and safely to the scrap yard or to whomever wants it? This is important as safety and proper transport is an all important factor when scrapping. 

I hope this brief piece helps you with a few considerations in deciding whether to sell or scrap.

Metal Theft

Metal Theft

There are few things out there that are more egregious than the theft of metal. The cast goes beyond the simple cost of the metal itself. There is frequently collateral damage. 

  Some examples of the true cost of metal theft.

The theft of copper cables off of train rails. The BBC reports, from the UK, that if even an inch of copper cable gets stolen, this causes massive train delays and thousands upon thousands of pounds(dollars) of damages for just a few pounds(dollars) in rewards.

Another story from CNBC documents how some thieves in the US are stealing copper cables from electrical stations, residential homes, and even from a construction site. Reportedly, copper theft is a $1 billion business in the US.(That's a ton of money.)

The point being...

The point being, metal theft carries a larger cost than the material itself. The melting down of copper wiring, for example, means the wire not only has to be bought again, but someone has to pay to make it again, pay to rebuy it, pay to transport it, pay to have someone reinstall the wiring and pay to test to make sure that the wiring is safe. This is another reason why I insist on only breaking down broken or antiquated items. They served their purpose and/or are now useless.  

Again, do not steal metal. It is expensive and nets very little money. Across the country(in the US), metal theft laws are getting updated to make selling stolen metal harder and carry harsher punishment. 

Renovation and Home Improvement

Renovation and Home Improvement Projects

A home project is a great way to really make your home feel cozier, more practical or just look prettier. Home improvement projects, however, generate a lot of mess. They leave wood, tile, tools, and dust all over the place. An unfortunate aspect but not to worry, a scrapper like you should see this as an opportunity. 

An Opportunity from the Dust

The material leftover from the home improvement project or renovation will undoubtedly contain some metal pieces. The leftover wood from where you peeled off the trim or the tack strips from that carpet you finally ripped out, for example. The nails in the wood are easy to get out if you know what your doing. Turning the wood into either a romantic fire in the fireplace or as part of your stockpile for a bonfire lets you easily get functionality(the fire) and use little effort removing the small amount of metal. Use a magnet the next day(careful as the ashes hold heat very well) and easily get the nails ready to scrap.

Another source of scrap metal will be the broken and busted items that are an inevitable part of fixing up the house to make it more homey. Sections of extra pipe, that clock you accidentally broke or that old piece of decor that no longer looks good are all a few items that would serve you better sorted and scrapped than tossed. The key to turning the mess into profit is a little work. You must take your time to sort out and bag scrap and garbage separately.

Treat your metal like money

Your scrap metal should be treated like money. Whether you are renovating the kitchen, living/bedrooms, or the garage/basement/workshop, chances are your house is lousy with metal objects. I have covered these areas in a little more detail with a short list of items you should keep an eye out  for so as to maximize your potential income. 

E-Scrap: Basics of Electronic Scrap

What is E-scrap?

E-scrap, or electronic scrap, is the waste from computers, TVs, office equipment, and other electronics that have been discarded. But why should you care about e-scrap? Well to quote the European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik from an interview with BBC, "There's gold in waste - literally. It takes a ton of ore to get 1g of gold. But you can get the same amount from recycling the materials in 41 mobile phones." As most of us also know, gold is valuable. Currently it is hovering between $1,500 and $2,000 an ounce. Throw in the mix of other valuable metals like copper, rare earth metals, platinum and palladium; suddenly your electronic waste will start looking like dollar bills. 

My E-scrap is valuable. So what do I do with it?

A very fair question to ask. Luckily, there are several fairly easy options to profit from your e-scrap. 

Ebay

Ebay is always a simple option if you really want to stay at home and not have to lug around your materials. Gold yielding material is the most prevalent item but there are buyers of every kind of e-scrap out there. Research on pricing and shipping costs will be the largest investment of time(and maybe money) but the profit potential is there.

Scrap Yards

Your go-to scrap yard could also be a buyer of your e-scrap too. In some areas, such as mine, this entails a long drive to take my scrap material to an e-scrap buyer as they are not close by but others could be fortunate enough to have one just down the street. Pricing for e-scrap is available online(one example site is here).  All the same scrap metal principles apply to e-scrap. Know what you got, know the rates, and get paid right. 

Vendors

Online vendors are another great place to sell your e-scrap. The one major disadvantage is they frequently have minimum weight or unit requirements to sell to them, although some yards may have the same deal. The upside is you can just ship it out and not have to drive, much like the Ebay option. Their rates are frequently competitive as well. A quick example vendor can be found here. Again, research the market rates and know what you have and how much. 

More than trash.

E-scrap is a lot more than plastic covered in little transistors and wiring. With a discerning eye, a little know-how and some leg work, e-scrap can turn out to be a very profitable mix into your scrapping or recycling plans. 

Scrap Around the House: Garage/Basement/Workshop

Scrap Around the House, part 3

The final part in my short yet hopefully useful guide to looking for scrap metal around your house. The last section will cover looking the work area(s) of the house. Let's get to it then.

Looking around your garage/basement/workshop we may see...

• Tools: Tools that most people probably have in their house are screw drivers, hammers and pliers. Tools eventually rust to near uselessness(sooner rather than later if not taken care of) but fear not. Most consist of high quality steel or other materials that will help take the sting out of having to replace them. 

-If you are more serious about tools, power tools are also another great source of materials. The wiring and motors are heavy and real quality pieces can hold valuable scrap. Don't destroy working tools(duh) but broken ones you have or your friends/family have can be broken down and scrapped. Most of the components taken from power tools can be treated as e-scrap. 

• "Leftover" materials: Bits of wood with nails in it and other leftovers from working on your projects will give you small amounts of metal. You can pull the nails or screws out as one way to retrieve them but let's get creative.  Take your wood materials(pallets, tack strips, any other miscellaneous wood) and have a bonfire. Collect the metal leftovers with a magnet the next day. A fun and tremendously easier way to deal with your wood/metal mixes.*

*Only burn wood that is clean with no paints or chemical treatments applied to it.  

• Scrap: Any other bits of wiring or rusted out and broken pieces left over from working on the car or truck or from fixing a broken outlet will create bits of near useless material. Useless doesn't mean worthless, however. All of this is "obvious" but I've said it before, the obvious stuff can be easily missed. 

This concludes the mini-series giving brief but hopefully a useful guide to scrap metal around the house.

Scrap Around the House: Living Room/Bedrooms

Scrap Around the House, part 2

Following up on looking for scrap metal in your house, we move from looking in your kitchen to the living room/bedrooms. These are combined mostly because they contain many similar kinds of items. Getting right into it.

Looking around the living room/bedrooms, we see...

• Tvs: Tvs, from old CRTs to modern flat screens, are a menagerie of metal pieces, wiring, circuit boards, plastic and glass. Taking apart broken or very old TVs can yield a few ponds each of copper, steel and e-scrap. E-scrap can be very valuable but requires a little more processing to either get the metal or sell to people online who want to process it into its constituent parts.* 

*Glass and bulbs found in the TVs can be valuable(some places buy glass and the tungsten in the bulbs) but also dangerous if you get careless. Gloves are recommended to deal with the cut hazard along with being careful as most bulbs contain mercury gas, a toxic heavy metal. 

• Decor: Clocks, statues, candle holders... The list goes on but many household decor items contains some metal. Break it down and collect the metal pieces. Simple but we often forget the obvious.

• Computers/E-waste: I've touched on it a few times, and I'll touch on it again. Computers contain small amounts of gold and lead, along a fair amount of copper wiring and boards. Other e-scrap(radios and other small electronics) will more than likely contain a good amount of copper wiring and small amounts of other metals like steel. 

As you may or may not have noticed, many of the items around your house contain metal that can be reclaimed. This generates less waste in your garbage(a huge plus if you have pay-as-you-throw trash service) AND some extra income in your pocket.  

Scrap Around the House: Kitchen

Scrap Around the House

There is a lot of scrap metal just sitting around in your house.  A few good places to look would be your kitchen, garage/workshop, and the living room/bedrooms. First we will start with just a few things you probably have around your kitchen that could make you some extra money if you start taking note of what you may have just thrown away. 

Looking around, a few things to take note of are...

• Cans: Soda cans and beer cans are frequently collected by many people. Tin cans are also another easy to collect item frequently bought and thrown away. Liberate your fruits and veggies or soda or beer from their metal can and toss it in your collection.  

*Note: Beer/soda cans are typically aluminum and "tin" cans are typically steel. Both can be scrapped but the aluminum is far more valuable. If you have to pick, pick the soda cans.

• Big and small appliances: Microwaves to fridges 6and other appliances may break down. You can't sell broken or old stuff, but you can still make a few bucks off it in scrap. Break down the cords and shells or just sell the whole item as mixed metal. I recommend scrapping only non-functioning or woefully antiquated appliances as working pieces can make you many times more than scrap value.    

*Note: Fridges, freezers and air conditioning units must have the freeon removed from them before scrapping, leagally. Some yards may ignore or overlook this but, to be safe, the fridge must have either a licenced facility remove the freeon or the copper freeon lines must be damaged/cut before being sold for scrap. Please do yourself a favor and check the lines before hauling.

• Silverware, Flatware and Utensils: Most of these items are high quality metal worth a little more than average. Some old silverware pieces may be actual silver, worth around $15-$20 an ounce or more. Most pieces have a stamp on them telling you what it is made of. 

• Pots and Pans: Mostly made of steel and cheaper alloys. Check to see what metal it is made of though, as some higher quality broken or worn out items may be worth more than the cheap-o pots and pans. As stated only scrap old, worn out, and/or broken pieces. Functional pieces are worth much more than their scrap value. 

• Aluminum foil and other metallic "thrash": Aluminum foil, aluminum cooking/baking trays, jar lids, and many other items that you would consider trash are actually worth some money if you collect them up. If it's metal, collect it and you can sell that with the rest of your mixed metal.   

This is just a short list to get you started looking around and noticing some items to scrap. Take the time to save up what you would normally toss and that "garbage" can suddenly turn into green. 

Scrapping Supplies: Basics and More

Supplies

Scrapping metal doesn't really require a lot supplies but there are a few things that will help. My recommended supplies can be found here. The amount of metal you can/will collect before selling it will vastly impact your supply needs. Always have at least a pound or more of each metal before scrapping it.

General 

Some supplies most everyone will agree are good, no matter the size of the scrap operation you run, include but not limited to:

• Info: You will make more money knowing where to look and what to collect. This seems basic but information is at premium in today's world. 

• Gloves: Sometimes collecting metal may be messy and some sharp corners and pieces can be a problem. Simple working gloves fit the bill and are cheap. Gloves are a personal preference. Wear what you like. 

• Magnet: Being able to quickly separate ferrous(iron containing) and non-ferrous metals is essential. Most ferrous metals are on the cheaper side so be prepared to collect a lot more of it to make good money. 

• Area to sort: From a few 5 gallon buckets set aside for different metals to a shed or dumpsters. Separating metals is important to get the maximum value from your metal collection.

• Scale: Weighing your metals is important to fetch the best rate. Yards pay more per pound for more metal. Knowing how much you have means you can call around and get the best rate.

• File: A file is a great little tool to have to see the true color of metals. Paints and shellac covered wiring and other metals makes it harder to see the true color. Pick one up and wonder not if that wire is copper or aluminium.

• Route or Other Collection Options: Traveling to certain places(collecting trash/scrap around the neighborhood, from local businesses or even just from friends and family*) or looking for bulk buys from Ebay or free metal on Craigslist. E-scrap is also valuable but frequently requires more initial effort to get the gold an other good metal bits. Regardless of what you do to collect scrap, creating a game plan and knowing where and what to look will help you collect scrap and make some money. 

• Vehicle: A car or van, preferably a truck, is required to load and get your metal from your house or collection to the yard. As stated previously, the more you bring the better. If you have to make fewer trips to get it all there, that saves gas too. Gas/fuel can be one of the biggest expenses you incur from collecting your scrap.

Wants- Niceties If You Have The Money 

• Trailer: A truck or van with a trailer would be great to load up and haul a lot of metal to the yard or “trash” to sort through. It would be worth it if you are serious about turning this into either a side hustle or full-time job.

• XRF Handheld: An XRF(x-ray fluorescence) handheld is really the only way a yard can determine 420 from 430 stainless steel or really any other variation, unless it is clearly stamped. This is impractical for most individuals as they start at $20,000. Yes, start at. As I have said before, a reputable yard will easily help you figure out exactly what you have with the one they have on hand. However if you can afford it, personally knowing what you have will allow you get the absolute best price for your metal.

*Always check with state and local ordinances on collecting trash. It is also HIGHLY recommended you talk to friends and neighbors and businesses before rummaging through their garbage or collecting it to find scrap. Certain businesses actually retain their ownership of their trash until it is collected for liability reasons. They are required to destroy old equipment and such due to safety regulations.