Aluminum Can Recycling Value Calculator
Calculates the cash value of aluminum cans you bring to a recycler or deposit-return location, based on your can count and price per can. Useful for community fundraisers, scrap-metal sellers, and households tracking returns in deposit states.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
A used aluminum can — or aluminium can, if you're outside the US — is worth roughly 2 to 5 US cents in scrap value at a typical recycling yard, or 5 to 10 cents at a container-deposit ("bottle bill") redemption center in one of the eleven US states that run them. This calculator turns a count of cans into the dollar figure, using either a per-can price you type in or the equivalent per-pound rate. Below the calculator: the actual current pricing, how the number is set, and the state-by-state variations that make "aluminum can price near me" a real question with a specific answer.
How much is an aluminum can worth today
As of mid-2026, scrap aluminum from used beverage cans (UBC-grade) trades in the 60 to 85 cents per pound range at US recycling yards, with regional swings of ±15 cents. Empty cans weigh about 14 to 15 grams each — call it 32 cans per pound — so at 70 cents per pound the price per can works out to just over 2 cents. In container-deposit states the redemption is a legislated flat rate that ignores scrap prices entirely: 5¢ in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Vermont; 10¢ in Michigan and Oregon's higher-tier for select containers.
Aluminum can price per pound
Per-pound pricing is how scrap yards actually quote you. To go from the yard's posted per-pound rate to per-can (what most people intuit), divide by 32 for empty crushed cans or 30-31 for uncrushed. The reverse: multiply your per-can price by 32 to see what per-pound rate you're getting. As of 2026 Q2, national averages posted on recyclingprices.com and iScrap sit around $0.68/lb, but a call to three local yards will typically surface a 15-30% spread within the same metro. It's worth the two phone calls before driving a full trunk of cans anywhere.
Scrap aluminum can price vs. recycled aluminum can price
These are the same thing in most contexts. "Scrap" is what the yard pays you (input side). "Recycled" is what buyers of secondary aluminum ingot pay downstream (output side). Both track the same London Metal Exchange primary aluminum contract, but the recycled/scrap price for you is the LME price minus the yard's margin (typically 20-40%), the shredding cost, and any regional freight adjustment. When you see aluminum futures climb on the news, expect your local scrap-yard price to follow within a few weeks, not the same day.
Aluminum can price near me — why the number changes by state
Beyond the container-deposit vs. non-deposit split, three local factors move the price: (1) proximity to a secondary aluminum smelter — Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama pay premium rates because there's a downstream buyer within 200 miles; (2) urban density — a Bay Area or NYC yard fights harder for input material than a rural Nebraska yard; (3) whether the yard also accepts curbside single-stream — those yards subsidize UBC prices to keep the truck coming back with the other material. If you're within an hour of a major city, expect $0.65-0.85/lb; rural markets often sit at $0.45-0.60/lb.
How many cans in a pound of aluminum
The industry rule of thumb is 32 cans per pound for empty, crushed 12-oz cans. Post-2015 lightweight can designs push that to 34 or even 35 cans/lb. Uncrushed cans weigh the same but pack less densely, so a "loose pound" at a scrap yard usually means about 30 cans. Larger sizes (16-oz, 24-oz "tallboys") weigh proportionally more; a 24-oz can averages about 19 grams, giving roughly 24 cans per pound.
When it's worth taking cans to a scrap yard
For a household-scale accumulation — a few kitchen bags of cans — the trip usually breaks even at best once you factor in the fuel, unless you're in a container-deposit state where redemption is legally-fixed higher. The math changes at ~50 lb (roughly 1,600 cans). Above that you're at $30-70 per trip, well above the drive cost. Below that, curbside recycling gets you no cash but the material still gets recovered.
Container-deposit states — the full list and rate
California (5¢ under 24oz, 10¢ over), Connecticut (5¢ / 10¢ for wine bottles), Hawaii (5¢), Iowa (5¢), Maine (5¢ / 15¢ for wine), Massachusetts (5¢), Michigan (10¢), New York (5¢), Oregon (10¢), Vermont (5¢ / 15¢), and Guam (5¢). Total of 11 US jurisdictions. If you're in one, the redemption center almost always beats the scrap yard on a per-can basis, but not on a per-pound basis for very-large volumes — commercial scrap purchases still route through a yard, not a redemption center.
How to use
Example 1 — Michigan deposit. You collect 200 standard 12 oz aluminum cans and return them at a Michigan deposit station ($0.10/can). 200 × 0.10 = $20.00. Verify ✓. Note the $0.10 rate is the highest in the US; in California you would receive ~$0.05/can for the same load = $10.00. Example 2 — Texas scrap yard. You bring 500 cans to a scrap yard paying $0.60/lb. At 14 g/can, 500 cans weigh 7 kg = 15.4 lb. Per-can price = 0.60 / 33 ≈ $0.018. 500 × 0.018 = $9.00. Verify ✓. Compare with a deposit state: the same 500 cans would yield $25-50 at $0.05-0.10/can. This is why deposit programs dramatically increase recycling rates.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to take cans to a scrap yard or a deposit-return center?
Always use deposit-return if you live in a deposit state — payouts are 2-10× higher than scrap rates because the deposit covers the bottle/can's full retail premium plus program administrative funding. In California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Iowa, plus most of Canada and parts of the EU, you'll pay back the original deposit ($0.05-$0.15 typical) regardless of weight. Outside deposit states, scrap-metal yards pay by weight at the current market aluminum price — typically $0.40-0.75/lb in 2025, or roughly $0.012-0.025 per can. If you collect cans in a non-deposit state, transportation cost to the nearest deposit state is rarely worth it for individual loads — only multi-hundred-pound collections justify the fuel. If you're collecting for a fundraiser, deposit-state events generate dramatically more revenue per volunteer-hour than scrap-state collections.
What is the current scrap price for aluminum cans?
Aluminum scrap prices are tied to the London Metal Exchange (LME) primary aluminum contract minus a refining discount, plus regional supply and demand. As of early 2025, US aluminum can scrap (UBC — Used Beverage Containers) trades at $0.40-0.75/lb at small-scale buyback centers; large industrial recyclers pay $0.80-1.10/lb on bulk truckload lots. Prices fluctuate with global aluminum demand — when LME aluminum runs hot (driven by EV manufacturing, construction, or supply disruptions like the 2022 Russia sanctions impact), scrap prices follow. Check current rates at iScrapApp.com, ScrapMonster.com, or your local yard's daily-rate posting before transporting a large load. Container manufacturers and large beverage distributors often have tight contracts with major recyclers, so retail prices may not reflect the wholesale rates the recycling stream actually clears at.
Does it matter if I crush the cans?
Crushing does not change scrap value because aluminum is priced by weight, not volume. The benefits are practical: crushed cans take ~75% less space, letting you transport larger loads in the same vehicle and reducing storage footprint. Many home crushers cost $20-40 and pay for themselves quickly if you collect aluminum at scale. In deposit-return states, do NOT crush cans before returning them — reverse vending machines need to read intact UPC barcodes and scan can dimensions for verification. Hand-crushed cans rejected at the machine result in lost deposit value. If you're going to a manual deposit center, some still accept crushed cans, but it's not worth the risk for the volume savings.
Why does the weight field exist if the formula doesn't use it?
The Weight per Can input is informational — it lets you cross-check expected weight against the formula or convert per-can pricing to per-pound pricing for comparison shopping. To convert: pricePerCan = scrapRatePerLb × weightPerCan_g / 453.6. For example, at $0.60/lb scrap and 14 g/can: 0.60 × 14 / 453.6 ≈ $0.0185/can. If you want the calculator to use weight directly, set Price per Can to that converted figure. The field is also useful for cross-checking a count against a known load weight: total grams divided by weight per can approximates the count without manually tallying.
When should I not use this calculator?
Skip it for non-aluminum cans — steel food cans, bi-metal (steel body with aluminum top) cans, or aluminum-coated paperboard containers — since those follow different recovery streams and prices. Do not use it for non-can aluminum (foil, pie tins, siding scrap, automotive parts) — those grades sell at different rates from UBC because they often contain coatings, paint, or alloy contaminants. Skip it for very small loads where transportation cost exceeds payout: at $0.018/can scrap value, you need 200+ cans to cover a 10-mile trip in fuel. For commercial-scale operations selling truckload quantities, contact your regional aluminum recycler directly for a quote — they pay 30-100% more than retail buyback centers but require minimum loads of 500+ lbs. For a fundraiser that combines aluminum with PET bottles or glass, run each material's calculator separately rather than blending the streams into a single estimate.
How much is an aluminum can worth right now?
At current scrap prices (mid-2026), a single crushed aluminum can is worth about 2-5 US cents at a scrap yard, or about 1-2 pence in the UK. In US container-deposit states — California, Michigan, Oregon, Massachusetts, and eight others — you get a fixed 5 or 10 cent refund per can regardless of scrap prices. The calculator above lets you enter your local per-lb or per-can price to get the exact figure.
How many aluminum cans are in a pound?
Empty, uncrushed aluminum cans weigh about 14-15 grams each — roughly 32 cans per pound. Crushed cans weigh the same but pack denser, so a "pound of cans" at a scrap yard usually means 30-34 cans regardless of whether they are crushed. Newer thin-wall can designs (post-2015) push the count up to 34-35 per pound.
Where can I get the most money for my aluminum cans?
In order of typical payout per can: (1) container-deposit states redemption centers pay a legislated 5-10 cents flat, always higher than scrap; (2) scrap metal yards pay current market scrap price by weight; (3) curbside recycling pays nothing but keeps material in the loop. Call a few local yards for their per-lb rate — quotes vary by 15-30% within the same city.
What is scrap aluminum can price per pound today?
US average is roughly $0.60-0.85 per pound as of mid-2026, with a 15-30% spread within any given metro area. Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and other states near secondary-aluminum smelters typically pay at the top of that range; rural markets pay at the bottom. Call three local yards before driving anywhere with a large load.
Is aluminum can price per pound the same as recycled aluminum price?
For a person selling cans to a scrap yard, yes — the yard is buying "recycled aluminum" input and the price you get is the LME primary-aluminum price minus the yard's margin. When industry publications quote "recycled aluminum price" they usually mean the price of secondary ingot, which is 20-40% higher than what a household seller sees.
What states pay the most for aluminum cans?
The eleven US container-deposit states pay a legally-fixed 5-15 cents per can, which almost always beats scrap yard prices. Outside those states, the highest per-pound rates tend to be near secondary smelters — Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama — and in dense urban markets where yards compete for input material.
How many aluminum cans make a pound?
About 32 empty crushed 12-oz cans per pound is the traditional rule of thumb. Modern lightweight can designs push that number to 34-35 cans per pound. Larger 24-oz tallboys weigh about 19g each, so roughly 24 per pound.