Over the past few years, the world has embraced recycling, as we all try to do what we can to protect what is left of our natural resources and one of the most sought-after metals these days is copper. This amazing metal is used extensively across a wide range of industries, especially plumbing and HVAC. If you want to know more about recycling copper, you’ve come to the right place.
The Recycling Industry
If we go back 10-15 years, the good old scrap metal dealer might have recycled about 50% of the scrap he collected. Today, that figure is close to 90%, as new tech enables more metals to be recycled, with sorting equipment that is very efficient.
These are the most common metals recycled today:
- Copper
- Aluminium
- Iron
- Steel
- Stainless steel
- Brass
- Lead
How To Recycle Copper
Take copper as an example, which is the most sought-after metal. If you have old copper piping or lots of electric wiring, you can sell it sorted or unsorted and with copper recycling in Sydney or in your city, the dealer collects and pays cash in hand. Rates may vary from dealer to dealer; Google can help you find the best per kg prices.
Electrical Wiring
Copper is used for electrical wiring and this is almost always covered with a plastic sleeve; if you want the best price for your copper, you need to completely remove the outer skin, leaving just the copper. It is easy enough to split the covering and peel it off. You will get a good workout if you have a lot of cable to split! A good pair of wire splitters will make short work of this, which is how the electrical contractors do it with scrap cabling.
Copper Piping
Air-conditioners and HVAC systems use copper, while copper pipes distribute hot water around the house. If you are revamping an old house, the chances are there would be a lot of scrap copper. It is best to cut off soldered joints and any other metals that might be present, as this gets you top dollar prices from the dealer. You might be wondering how to find ‘copper scrap buyers near me‘, any search engine can help you with that. There is intense competition among scrap metal dealers, so you should compare per kg prices, plus the dealer will come and collect the scrap at an arranged time.
We all need to recycle what we can to reduce the demand of natural resources. Should you accumulate some scrap metal, there will be a local dealer who’ll pay you the going rate and will arrange a time for collection. Make sure the metals are separated and you will get the best price; that said, the dealer will take away old domestic appliances and other unsorted scrap and pay the going rate. They have sorters who prepare the scrap for recycling, so you can rest assured that all your scrap will be responsibly recycled.
