Scrap Metal Yards in Phoenix, AZ [Reviewed]

REVIEWING LOCAL JUNK YARDS & GUIDE TO SCRAPPING METALS

Recycling metal is a great way to earn a few extra bucks while doing your part to go green. Below we feature our favorite scrap yards yards in Phoenix, as well as a best practice guide to scrapping metal.

While building your Spring declutter pile, think about where all of that junk is going to end up before you toss it. If you make the right moves, you can do a lot of good for our environment and maybe even make yourself a buck or two along the way. A lot of your old junk contains metal. Metal is one of those things that can be recycled over and over again without losing quality. If you have some metal parts or an old appliance recycling before tossing. 

BEST SCRAP METAL YARDS IN PHOENIX, AZ

HOW TO SCRAP METAL

TOOLS YOU'LL NEED

To get started in the scrapping world, you need some basic tools.

First, you need to get your hands on a quality pair of wire cutters, something sharp and durable, a pair of tin snips work well and often last longer than other wire cutters.

A multi-head screwdriver, or better yet a cordless drill, but don’t forget the drill bits and always remember to charge the battery. Long screwdriver bits come in handy if you can find some.

Finally, you absolutely need a magnet. Any magnet will do, a heavy industrial grade hockey puck or the Mickey Mouse off the fridge, it doesn’t matter.

KNOWLEDGE YOU'LL NEED

Ferrous VS Non-Ferrous Metals

Before you get buried under piles of scrap, you will need a brief education in ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

The reason you must carry a magnet with you is to determine if you are working with ferrous or non-ferrous metals. Distinguishing between the two is essential to your success in the scrapping business.

In a straightforward test, place the magnet on the metal if it sticks, then you have ferrous metal.

The most common types of ferrous metals are steel and iron. If the magnet doesn’t stick, then it is a non-ferrous metal. Non-ferrous metals, like copper, aluminum, brass, and stainless steel are more valuable to a scrap yard.

Types of Metals

Now that you know the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous, you need to know about the different types of metals.

Aluminum

The most common metal to be recycled is aluminum.

Although aluminum recycling will not make you a millionaire, its value to the world is significant. Recycled aluminum saves 80% of the energy it took to make it in the first place, plus it is one of the easiest to get ahold of.

Where Can You Find It?

It is often painted, but if not, it has a white-silver color. Obviously, you’ll find it in beer and soda cans, but it is also common in window and door frames, gutters, siding, pots and pans, even tire rims.

Copper

On the opposite end of the spectrum is copper. It is anywhere from red to dark brown, depending on the condition of the metal. It's valuable enough that copper thieves will cost thousands of dollars in structural damage to get their hands on it.

Where Can You Find It?

You can find a lot of copper in your home, starting with plumbing pipes and electrical wiring. But often you see it in gutters, air conditioners, and roofing materials too. Unlike aluminum, copper is worth a lot of money at the scrap yard, but finding it, without taking apart your house, can be tricky because of its high demand.

Brass

The second most valuable metal is brass. Not to be confused with copper or gold, brass is heavier and is yellow with a red tint.

Where Can You Find It?

Brass is a mix of zinc and copper and is usually used for plumbing. You can find a lot of brass at the hardware store. It is used to make keys, cabinet handles, light fixtures, door handles, and plumbing fixtures. You can usually get a decent payout for brass because of how dense and heavy it is.

Steel

Another common metal is steel. Unlike the other valuable recyclables, steel is a ferrous metal, so your magnet will stick to it. The main difference between steel and stainless steel is magnetism; steel attracts the ladies and stainless steel doesn't.

Where Can You Find It?

Because of its popularity, you will find steel easily, but you won’t get a ton of money for it due to the laws of supply and demand. Steel can be found in cars, chairs, tools, cabinets, shelves, bed frames, and dozens of other places. The great thing about recycling steel is that it can be melted down and repurposed a thousand times and never lose its integrity.

Gathering Scrap

Look at a variety of sources to collect enough metal to make your trip to the scrap yard worthwhile.

Start with the junk lying around your house. Once you start looking, you will see spare metal parts everywhere.

While decluttering, you’re sure to run into piles of recyclable metals.

The kitchen alone has a half dozen different types of metal. Iron pans, copper pots, empty beer cans, aluminum foil, and silverware are just a few. Not to mention that your old appliances have a plethora of metal to salvage.

There is metal hidden nearly everywhere in the house, especially in hardware, such as cabinet handles, door frames, window frames, television sets, electronics, washer and dryers, lamps, and picture frames.

Most patio furniture is made out of metal or at least has metal parts, all of which are salvageable. Most landscaping tools, including lawnmowers and shears, have metal that can be recycled.

Household decor like furniture, lamps, shelves, even old Christmas ornaments, and other decorations can contain metal. After cleaning out the house hit the garage. Tools, nails and screws, bicycles, instruments, car parts such as batteries and rims and a dozen other things can be sent to the salvage yard.

Copper wire is in almost anything that is powered. Televisions, computer monitors, computers, laptops, DVD players, cameras, cell phones, appliances both big and small, from washing machines to toasters, basically anything that plugs in uses copper wire. For a while, in the '70s and again in the mid-'90s aluminum wire replaced the traditional copper wire, so if you strip an old appliance don't be too surprised if you get silver instead of red.

After you have canvassed all of your garbage, start looking at other people’s junk. You can rummage through bulk trash piles, troll through Craigslist ads, and even pester your friends for their old junk.

Leave no stone unturned my friends; its the scrapper motto.

Cleaning Up Metals for Recycling

You aren’t likely to find a treasure trove of pure metal lying around. Almost all of it will have non-metal parts that need to be removed. If you have a stash of parts with screws or other non-metal components, it is worth your time to remove them.

If you do not remove the excesses first, you may be sent away.

Other yards will take them for a lower price since the yard will have to clean them before the metal can be recycled. But if you’re willing to do the work, then you can expect to make a little extra money.

For example ethernet cables and electrical wires are little gold mines.

Stripping the wire before taking it to the yard will get you a lot more than turning them over covered in rubber

Separating Your Metals

After you have amassed all the metal you can find, it’s time to sort and separate.

Use the magnet to determine which items are ferrous and non-ferrous.

From there, categorized your metals by type: brass, copper, steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.

Arriving at the Scrap Metal Yard

Phone In Advance

If you’ve never been to the scrap yard, you should consider calling ahead. They may have special procedures that you will need to follow or have odd hours. Check to see what metals they accept and in what condition, for example, some yards won’t take wires that have not been stripped. This call will also give you a chance to price shop before you head out.

Weigh-In Time

The last thing you need to know about recycling scrap metal is the weigh in process. You’ll need to dust off your high school math skills to make sure you get what you are owed.

The terms you need to know before you weigh in are gross weight, tare weight, and net weight.

Gross weight is the weight of the metals and the container they are in; if you’ve filled up the bed of your truck, then the gross weight is the weight of the truck with metal in the bed.

Tare weight is the weight of the container used to carry the metal. In this case, the tare weight is the weight of the truck when the truck bed is empty.

Finally, net weight = gross weight - tare weight.

You will be paid based on your net weight.

Watch the scales and calculate the numbers yourself to make sure you are getting paid for every pound you brought in.

Why Recycle?

Recycling metal means less mining, and less mining means protecting our environment, protecting our environment means using our natural resources wisely, being wise means your able to give unsolicited advice, giving unsolicited advice means you're annoying, being annoying means you have no friends. But even annoying lonely people need to recycle. Especially if you live here in Phoenix, our recycling efforts with the Blue Bin are less than ideal.

Metal is too valuable to just throw away, so consider what you plan to do with those old appliances, lawn mowers, even bullet casing. All of which can be sold for a pretty penny to a local scrap metal recycler.

Your old junk can be a new car or plane, maybe new pipes for a house or even new appliances. Maybe even a new soda can. Think about that the next time you pop a top, that can might be your old bicycle.

It not just good for the environment, its good for the economy: it keeps the price of metal products down. Producing metal from virgin ore takes more energy, and money than recycled metal. Plus it produces massive greenhouse gasses. So not recycling metal will make your virgin gassy.

Recycle and scrap metal centers will pay you top dollar for anything you bring in, from a bag full of soda cans to your old water heater, you can expect to get some dough for your old junk.

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