If you are in the construction industry, or are an electrician or plumber, you probably come across metal every day. You could also be a homeowner with lots of scrap lying around. Whichever the case, you might have thought about selling the metal to scrap yards for recycling. To get the most money out of scrap metal, you need to prep it before selling it off. Here are some of the tips on how to get this done.

Clean the scrap metal

Scrap metal is usually contaminated with dirt, oil, trash, or other non-metallic materials attached to it such as cardboard, wood, plastic or rubber. Remove all these contaminants and clean the metal. If you have any copper wires, you should strip them to get the plastic off. Having these contaminants mixed with your metal can cause the entire load to be rejected; otherwise, scrappers will buy it at the lowest rate possible. If the metal is all clean and ready to go directly into the furnace, you will receive more money for it.

Identify and sort your metal

All metals can be classified into two: ferrous and non-ferrous. The ferrous metals are iron and iron-based steel metals, or alloys. They are magnetic with low resistance to corrosion. Such metals include vehicle scrap metal and metal offcuts from manufacturing industries. Non-ferrous metals are other metals other than iron and iron alloys. They are non-magnetic with a high resistance to corrosion. Examples include copper, brass, lead, zinc, stainless steel, and aluminium and its alloys.

You can use a magnet to sort out ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal. If a ferrous metal is attached to a non-ferrous one, use a tool to separate them. The two types of metal have different pricing rates. Non-ferrous ones are more valuable and will earn you more money. Also, by having sorting your scrap metal, you will save the scrappers time and labor, and this will be passed on to you as a bonus.

Find a reputed scrapper

There are various companies on the market ready to pay for your scrap metal. Always get a reputed one for the best value. Also, consider factors such as transport costs from your site, especially if you generate a lot of scrap metal on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Costs usually vary among companies depending on the size of the load. However, if you have your truck, you can use it and eliminate transport costs.

Scrap metal is valuable. Instead of throwing it away together with other trash, gather it together, let it accumulate, and you could make money out of it.