How Do You Scrap Metal?: Collecting and Recycling
Whether you plan on making scrap metal recycling a steady source of your income or one time thing, you need to know where to start. Gulf Coast Scrap Metal is a scrap metal recycling facility in Houston that encourages both scrap collection and green initiatives. Below we lay out some beginners’ tips for scrapping, sorting, and recycling.
Collecting and Sorting Scrap Metal
The first step to scrapping is finding the right type of metal scrap. Most scrap metal recycling facilities buy copper, brass, aluminum, nickel alloys, iron, carbide, lead, and stainless steel. Some facilities, like Gulf Coast Scrap Metal, accept computer scrap, such as network cables and other wires as well.
As you collect your scrap, you want to make sure that you sort it by metal composition as well. Most facilities require that scrap be sorted before they purchase it. If you wait until the last minute, it will be very difficult to sort out your scrap.
Identifying metals can be difficult, but there are a few tips that help. Using a magnet allows you to discriminate between nonferrous (copper, aluminum, brass, stainless steel and bronze) and ferrous metals (steel and metal). Pass a magnet over you scrap metal: if it sticks, your scrap is made out of a ferrous metal; if it doesn’t stick, your scrap is made out of a nonferrous metal.
Another common way to identify the composition of scrap is the spark test. We do not recommend this test to those who are not familiar with using a grinding wheel. In this test, you take a piece of scrap and grind it. One can classify the type of metal it is by the kind of spark it lets off.
Quality scrap metal recycling facilities, such as Gulf Coast Scrap Metal, will provide alloy testing for free.
Dropping Off You Scrap Metal for Recycling
Now that you have collected and sorted your scrap, it is time to deliver it and get paid! You can either drop off the scrap yourself or have the recycling facility pick it up. You should not have to pay to drop your scrap off at the recycling facility; Gulf Coast will pick up your scrap directly at your office or jobsite completely free of charge.
Although the price of scrap varies with the market, there are a few general rules of thumb to remember. Copper is valuable and recyclers and scrap buyers tend to pay a pretty high price for it. Brass will also sell for a higher price than aluminum or steel scrap. Remember, the better condition the scrap is in, the better the price. Also, prices are determined by weight, so the more scrap you can submit, the more you will get paid!
We hope that these tips explained how to scrap metal recycling. If you are in the greater Houston area, call Gulf Coast Scrap Metal at 713-868-4111 for scrap metal recycling!