Category: Scrap Metal

Common Mistakes To Avoid While Scrapping

Posted on by Klein Recycling
Rusty Scrap

Avoiding mistakes in scrapping will not only earn you more money but will also save you from injury.  Here is a list of some common mistakes to avoid while scrapping. 

Not Wearing Safety Gear

With jagged edges, scrap metal can poke and puncture the skin causing deep cuts.  All areas of your body must be protected while scrapping. Remember this list: wear gloves to protect your hands, puncture-resistant pants and long-sleeves to protect your skin, googles to protect your eyes, and a helmet to protect your head.  By protecting your body, you will prevent injury and avoid going to the hospital.  

Carry a first-aid kit to treat yourself quickly in the event of an injury.  Make sure your first-aid kit carries the essentials like tweezers for picking out splinters, band-aids, topical anti-biotic cream, and a bottle of water.  

Not Checking Prices

The price of metal fluctuates very much like the stock market.  If you don’t go to the scrap yard every week, chances are the price has changed since your last visit.  This may mean waiting a bit until prices rise again before scraping your metal. Just knowing prices will give you more negotiating power at the scrap yard.

Not Separating Materials

Scrap yards are notorious for giving you the price for the lowest metal in a bin, meaning that if you have a bin filled with many different types of metals, you’ll get the price for the lowest metal.  By separating your metals, you’ll receive a higher price for your metals overall because you’ll get the price for each individual metal and not the lowest one. Label your containers with metal types and then as you’re scrapping, just put each metal into it’s own container.  

Not Using A Magnet

Magnets are one of the most important tools for scrappers.  They help distinguish between non-ferrous and ferrous metals and help you separate your metals into different scrapping containers.   Ferrous metals stick to the magnet and contain metals like steel and iron but have less monetary value than non-ferrous metals like brass, copper, and aluminum.  Non-ferrous metals don’t stick to magnets. Keep a magnet on hand and it will save you a lot of time identifying your scrap.  

Going to a Scrap Yard With A Bad Reputation

Just like any other business, some scrap yard owners will give you great prices while others’ will mislead you on price and how to manage your scrap in order to influence price.  Do some background research on your local scrap yards such as calling them up first and asking for prices before you commit to the yard and haul your scrap over there.

Being Misled By Different Scrap Metal Grades

Before you get to the scrap yard, you’ll want to be sure what’s the grade of metal that you have.  For example, you may go to the scrap yard believing you have #1 bare bright wire but it’s only insulated copper cable because you didn’t know that you had to strip it.  Another example is that you believe you have insulated cable only to find out it’s data wire. You’re going to notice a huge difference in pricing when this type of confusion occurs.  Make sure that you find out which material you have before going to the scrap yard and know how the scrap yard likes it prepared in order to make the most amount of money from your scrap.   Avoiding mistakes while scrapping will not only keep you safe but also earn you more profit.  Give Klein Recycling a call today at 908-722-2288 and we’ll buy your scrap!

The Three Best Metals To Scrap

Posted on by Klein Recycling
metal shavings from best metal to scrap

There is a category of metals that earns scrappers the most money.  Unfortunately, most scrappers simply scrap any kind of metal they find, not giving much thought as to what type of metal they scrap or what prices they can earn. If you spend your time wisely while scrapping, you can earn a few hundred dollars extra each month just by scrapping specific types of metal.  These types of metal are called non-ferrous metals and we purchase non-ferrous metals anywhere from $.30/pound to a whopping $2.00/pound at Klein Recycling.  

Metal, as you know, is surprisingly heavy.  Just by collecting some metal lying around, it is easier than you think to earn some real cash.  There are three common non-ferrous metals, which include copper, brass, and aluminum. By focusing on these three metals, you put yourself in a position to earn top dollar and spend your time scrapping wisely.    

Aluminum

Aluminum is the most common type of non-ferrous metal.  You can find aluminum almost everywhere, like cans, automobile parts, bicycles, household appliances, and aluminum foil.   Aluminum is easily melted down and reused indefinitely making it environmentally friendly and when melted down, you’re also helping to save around 90% of the energy it takes to create a new aluminum product. The rates for aluminum change daily but they average around $.30 per pound.  Scrapping aluminum is an easy way to earn extra cash each month because of how accessible it is.    

Brass

Finding brass can be tricky but also one of the most rewarding metals to scrap.  Some household items that contain brass are bed frames, serving trays, brass faucets, door handles, and lamps.  Usually, the brass that you find in these items is known as yellow brass. Yellow brass is often found in plumbing materials and pipes as well. 

Another type of brass is red brass, which contains some copper in it.  We’ll pay you more for red brass than yellow brass but don’t worry, you’ll still earn good money for both types. We’ll pay you around $1.50/pound for your brass.  Just make sure your brass is clean with no plastic, rubber, or steel in it. The next type of scrap that is extremely valuable is copper.    

Copper

Copper is in high demand at scrap yards and you’ll earn the most money by finding and scrapping copper. It is used in nearly every industry that requires metals and is infinitely recyclable. It’s re-used to make motors, construction materials, industrial machinery and more.  Copper prices often fluctuate and you’ll want to do some background research before selling to make sure you get the best price for your copper. You may even need to wait a short period of time for copper prices to rise.   

There are three main types of copper that are recycled and can earn you upwards of $2.00/pound. Copper #2 is the third most valuable type of copper and is composed of pipe, a solid metal that has paint, solder, or any other coating, and unalloyed wire.  To meet the #2 copper grade, the copper must not have insulation or be thinner than 1/16 inch in diameter. Copper #1 is the second most profitable copper and is made of bus bars, clippings, commutator segments and wire of at least 1/16 inch in diameter. 

The most valuable copper is known as Bare Bright copper and is 99% pure copper, which must be at least 1/16 inch thick and uncoated.  Bare Bright copper must be stripped of any fittings or insulation as well as uncoated and unalloyed. Overall, your time is spent wisely by scrapping non-ferrous metals because these three metals, aluminum, brass, and copper are priced high enough to make your time scrapping worth it.    

Quick Tip

Each container of metal is priced based on the lowest value metal in that bin.  You should separate all metal pieces by metal type. This sorting ensures that your metals are priced at the highest price according to each metal type.  At Klein Recycling, we’ll be happy to purchase your metals from you at an amazingly profitable rate. Give us a call today at (908) 722-2288.

How To Make The Most Amount Of Money From Your Scrap Metal

Posted on by Klein Recycling
Money from scrap metal

Most people just bring a bucket of scrap to the scrap yard and earn the lowest possible amount for their scrap.  This is because people don’t know the tricks of earning top dollar for scrap. Earning that extra income from your scrap metal is entirely possible and because you are putting in the effort anyway, you might as well get paid the most amount of money that you can.  At Klein Recycling, we’ll not only purchase your scrap but also make sure you get top dollar.  

Here are a few ways to make sure you get the most amount of money from your scrap:

Separate Your Scrap

Unless your scrap metal is separated, scrap yards will count them as the lowest priced metal.  For example, if you have a bin filled with aluminum, copper, and brass, the scrapyard owner will give you aluminum prices when copper prices are higher.  Separating each metal will wield you more profit because you’ll get higher prices for the rarer metals.

To separate your scrap, set up different containers in your garage or where you scrap that are pre-labeled with the specific type of metal and throw your scrap into each different container. If you are unsure which metal is which, you can use this guide.  Having a system to separate your metals will consistently make you more money.

Scrap Non-Ferrous Metals

There is a difference between ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals in the scrapping world.  Ferrous metals contain iron and are much easier to get a hold of than non-ferrous metals. Most household appliances like microwaves, washing machines, a/c units, and old refrigerators are ferrous metals.  You can scrap these metals for quick cash.

Non-ferrous metals are harder to find but will reward you more money.  The main types of non-ferrous metals are aluminum, copper, and brass. Aluminum is the easiest to seek out of the non-ferrous metals and scraps for around $.30/pound.  You can find aluminum in house sidings and frames, gutters, car parts, car rims, and wires.

The next non-ferrous metal to scrap is brass.  Brass will gain you around $1.40/pound! Brass is most often found in pipe fittings, rods, castings, and even bullet casings.  Identifying brass and scraping it earns you more for your money than most other metals.  

The only other metal that can offer you a higher reward is copper at around a whopping $2/pound.  By focusing on copper for scraping, you can add a significant side hustle into your life. Copper tubing is often found in the structures of houses and buildings and plumbing work.  

In short, you can earn quick cash scraping old household goods and you can earn significant income scrapping non-ferrous metals like copper, brass, and aluminum.  Make sure to implement some of the above strategies to earn as much as you can from your time scraping.  

Finding Free Scrap Metal

One of the easiest ways to earn money scrapping is to scrap other peoples’ stuff.  By going on craigslist or the Facebook marketplace, you can find scrap metal by taking electronics, cars, and appliances off peoples’ hands.  You can simply search for scrap metal or free stuff on these sites and find metal to scrap. Of course, you will need a truck or a vehicle to pick up these items.  

Making the most of scrapping is simply about knowing what to do and where to look.  The easiest way to find extra scrap metal is in your house, friends’ houses, or online.  Many people throw out scrap metal at local dumpsters as well and some businesses leave their scrap metal out back for weeks at a time.  Often, construction workers have access to unused metal that they can scrap themselves.  It is entirely possible to earn a few hundred dollars per month scrapping and at Klein Recycling, we want to help you accomplish this goal by purchasing your scrap.  Give us a call today!

Understanding Twitch in the Metal Market in 2019

Posted on by Klein Recycling

What is Twitch?

In order to understand the twitch metal market, we first have to define what exactly “twitch” is. When a vehicle is scrapped for metal, the combination of non-ferrous metals that have been separated from the shredded material (known as Zorba) and further processed into something called “light fraction” (achieved by separating the aluminum and magnesium contents from the copper, zinc, brass, bronze, and stainless steel) is called twitch. Twitch is an important part of the scrap metal industry because aluminum, one of the chief metals found in twitch, is such a versatile material with countless usages. It is easy and cost effective to work with, resists corrosion unless under extreme circumstances, conducts electricity, and is lightweight yet durable. Aluminum is so strong and versatile, it is used by the U.S. Army and even NASA.

Twitch is Good For the Environment and the Economy

Recycling aluminum is important because it costs less and is more environmentally friendly than mining for raw metals. Aluminum can actually be recycled an indefinite amount of times, so it’s extremely beneficial to keep it in circulation rather than trashing it. Additionally, aluminum makes cars, planes, and rockets lighter, causing them to require less energy when in use. This is called “lightweighting” and has the potential to significantly lower the carbon footprint of the transportation industry.

Not only is recycling aluminum better for the environment, but it also benefits the economy. The Aluminum Association reports that 3.3 employment opportunities are created in response to each aluminum industry job. The industry itself employs over 160,000 employees. It is also cost-effective to recycle aluminum. A study done by the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling at the Metal Processing Institute found that the recycling rate of automotive aluminum is 91%, meaning that only a small percentage of aluminum is lost in the recycling process.

Pricing Pressure in the Twitch Metal Market

As reported by the American Metal Market magazine, international demand for twitch is growing, but suppliers are trying to raise prices. Buyers have been tempted by the lower prices of non-twitch shredded metal, putting pressure on the twitch industry to be more competitive. The price difference between twitch and other secondary aluminum alloys is currently 31 cents per pound. Additionally, some auto shredder operators have seen as much as a 20% drop in inbound materials, which could negatively impact the success of the twitch metal market if the pattern continues or becomes more widespread. Consumers are pushing for a price reduction and negotiations are ongoing.


The benefits of recycling aluminum are significant. Bring your scrap metal to Klein’s Recycling to contribute to the health of the planet and the creation of jobs in the recycling industry.