Metal Recycling Value Calculator
Estimate the cash value of your scrap metal before heading to a recycling yard. Enter the weight and select copper, aluminum, or steel to calculate an approximate payout in dollars.
About this calculator
Scrap metal prices vary widely by material, which is why this calculator applies a type-specific price per kilogram. The formula is: value ($) = metalWeight (kg) × pricePerKg, where copper is priced at $3.50/kg, aluminum at $1.25/kg, and steel at $0.15/kg. These rates reflect typical spot prices paid by scrap yards for clean, unseparated material — actual payouts may differ based on purity, market conditions, and local yard policies. Copper commands the highest price because it is in high industrial demand and expensive to mine from ore. Aluminum is lighter and widely recycled, while steel's abundance keeps its scrap price lower. Knowing the approximate value helps you decide whether sorting metals by type is worth the effort before recycling.
How to use
Say you have collected 15 kg of scrap copper wire from a renovation project. Select 'copper' as the metal type and enter 15 in the Metal Weight field. The calculator computes: 15 × 3.50 = $52.50 estimated payout. If instead those 15 kg were aluminum cans, the result would be 15 × 1.25 = $18.75. And 15 kg of steel scrap would yield just 15 × 0.15 = $2.25. This comparison shows clearly why sorting metals before a scrap yard visit can significantly increase your return — copper is worth more than 23 times the price of steel per kilogram.
Frequently asked questions
What factors affect the actual scrap metal price I receive at a recycling yard?
Scrap yards adjust their buying prices daily based on commodity market fluctuations tracked on exchanges like the London Metal Exchange (LME). The purity and form of your metal also matters — clean copper wire fetches more than copper mixed with insulation or other alloys. Location plays a role too, as regional supply and demand, transportation costs, and yard overhead all influence local rates. The prices used in this calculator ($3.50/kg for copper, $1.25/kg for aluminum, $0.15/kg for steel) are general reference benchmarks; always call your local yard for current quotes before a large drop-off.
Is it worth sorting scrap metal by type before recycling it?
Yes, sorting scrap metal by type almost always increases the payout you receive, sometimes dramatically. Mixed metal loads are typically bought at the lowest-value rate in the mix, meaning unsorted copper and steel together may be priced as steel. Separating copper, aluminum, and steel allows each to be sold at its proper market rate. The calculation above shows copper is worth more than 23× the price of steel per kilogram, so even a few kilograms of copper hidden in a mixed pile represents significant value. A brief sorting effort before your recycling trip can meaningfully increase your return.
How do scrap metal prices compare between copper, aluminum, and steel?
Copper consistently commands the highest scrap price — typically $3.00–$4.50/kg — because of strong global demand from the electrical, construction, and electronics industries and the relatively high cost of virgin copper production. Aluminum sits in the middle range at roughly $0.80–$1.50/kg; its value is driven by the enormous energy savings from recycling (95% less than primary smelting), making recycled aluminum economically attractive to manufacturers. Steel is the most abundant and cheapest scrap metal, generally trading at $0.10–$0.25/kg, but its high volume means steel recycling still represents the largest tonnage of any recycled material globally.