So you want to start recycling scrap metal for extra money? This can be a lucrative venture, and many of our customers here at Encore also consider it a fun hobby. The best way to get the most out of scrap metal recycling is to understand a bit about the process before you start recycling metal, so here’s a quick primer just for you.

What to Look for When You Start Recycling Scrap Metal

Almost any scrap metal is worth something, but different metals bring different amounts of money. Aluminum and copper are particularly profitable for many of our regular customers, as these materials are used in a wide variety of manufacturing processes. Steel is not worth as much per pound, but is very easy to find virtually anywhere.

Before throwing out any car parts, electrical or plumbing components, or electronics like computers and cell phones, try bringing them by our facility. If you own a business that produces a lot of scrap metal, you may want to make regular visits to our facility or learn about our free recycling container pickup and dropoff program.

Even if you don’t own a business, you may be able to make extra money by offering to help clean up construction sites and take scrap metal—just be sure to get explicit permission from the site owner or construction company, in writing if possible.

Spoiler alert: NO!

We saw a disturbing video of a man advocating the burning of insulated copper wire, purportedly to qualify the wire as Copper #2, which brings a higher sale value when sold as scrap than insulated wire. Please don’t do this.

Burning insulated wire in Texas is ILLEGAL under the federal Clean Air Act.

Burning copper wire is not a safe way to release the copper inside it. Burning copper wire releases carcinogens and toxins into the air and into the ground around the burn site, including “dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particulate matter, heavy metals (such as lead, arsenic, selenium and cadmium) and other pollutants.”

You might wonder how burning copper wire yourself is different from the industrial process used to reclaim copper from insulated wire. It’s true that heat is also used to strip copper wire in a commercial setting. There is a big difference between holding copper wire over a flame, as an amateur might do, and a factory that uses the intense heat of an industrial incinerator and appropriate venting procedures. Burning insulated copper wire yourself releases toxins that can damage your nervous system, respiratory system, and cardiovascular system, not to mention increasing your risk of cancer.

Fines and punishment for not following this code are steep. You could face fines in the tens of thousands of dollars or even jail time. If someone should catch you burning insulated wire, they can report you for a reward.

This blog post from Scrap Metal Junkie breaks down the foolishness of burning copper wire for economic purposes.

Say for example that #1 copper scrap is worth 2.60 per pound, scrap insulated wire is worth $1.20 per pound, and burned wire is worth $2.20 per pound… For a pile of wire that weighs under 100 lbs, there is NO reason to burn it.

If you burned 100 lbs of insulated copper wire copper wire, and you end up with less than 60 pounds of burned copper, then that means you have broken even…(When you burn copper wire, it loses about half its weight, depending on the type of wire.)

On the other hand, if you were to strip the same wire, you would make at least $31!

Did you know that aluminum used to be considered such a rare and precious commodity that Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew, had a rattle and other toys made of aluminum, as a status symbol? Even though aluminum is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, at the time it was extremely difficult to produce. In fact, aluminum was selected as the material to use for the 100-ounce capstone of the Washington Monument in 1884, a time when one ounce cost the daily wage of a common worker on the project. The capstone, which was set in place on December 6, 1884, was the largest single piece of cast aluminum  at the time.

When you think of recycling, aluminum cans are often the first item to come to mind. It makes sense, since aluminum cans are perhaps the most sustainable beverage container available. Not only are they extremely lightweight and easily stacked (try stacking glass bottles!) for efficiency in transport, but they are easily reclaimed. According to the Aluminum Association, approximately 70% of every aluminum consists of recycled aluminum.

Here are some additional facts about aluminum cans that you might not have known:

• More than 50 percent of the aluminum cans produced is recycled.
• A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days.
• Every minute, an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled.
• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
• Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline.
• Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: Two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is still in use today.

Other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.