Most people have a vague idea that scrap metal is worth something and no idea which bits are worth anything. The gap between the best and the worst metal in a normal shed clean-out is enormous per kilo, so it pays to know which pile is which.
Our rates
Indicative rates, the same ones on the home page. Metal markets move every week, so ring 0435 805 124 for the exact figure before you load up.
The grade names Adelaide yards use
Ring around and you will hear these. They are not jargon for the sake of it, each one is a different price.
- Aluminium extrusion. Clean window and door frames with the steel, rubber and glass out. The best paying aluminium.
- Aluminium domestic. Mixed household stuff. Pots, trays, old fittings. Pays noticeably less than extrusion, which is why pulling the steel out of a window frame is worth doing.
- Mag or alloy wheels. Clean alloy, priced separately again. Tyres off.
- Lead. Sheet, flashing and wheel weights. Heavy, so small volumes add up.
- Light steel vs heavy steel. Both low per kilo, but heavy gauge steel pays better than thin sheet and roofing.
- Car batteries. Bought by the unit, not the kilo.
For reference, published Adelaide price guides in September 2026 had aluminium extrusion around $2.50 to $3.50 a kilo, domestic aluminium around $1.50 to $2.50, lead around $1.70 to $2.00 and ferrous steel around $0.10 to $0.25. Everyone's exact bands differ and they all move with the market.
How to tell what you have
The magnet test, first
Grab a fridge magnet. If it sticks, you are looking at steel or iron, which is the low paying end. If it does not stick, you have one of the non-ferrous metals, and that is where the money is. Copper, brass, aluminium and lead are all non-magnetic.
Copper vs brass
Copper is that reddish orange. Brass is yellow and heavier feeling, and it is what most taps, fittings and old valves are made of. Scratch brass and you will usually see yellow all the way through. Copper pays more, so do not throw copper in the brass bin.
Aluminium vs stainless
Aluminium is light for its size and dull grey. Stainless is heavy, shinier, and a strong magnet will sometimes drag slightly on it. Aluminium pays more per kilo than stainless, which surprises people.
The ones people throw out by mistake
- Electric motors. Copper winding inside. Pool pumps, old power tools, washing machine motors and fan motors are all worth bringing.
- Air conditioner outdoor units. Copper coil, a compressor and aluminium fins. One of the better single items a house produces.
- Car and solar batteries. Lead. Heavy, worth money, and they must never go in a kerbside bin.
- Alloy wheels. Clean aluminium at a good weight each.
- Radiators. Older copper and brass radiators pay well. Newer aluminium ones are worth less, but still worth bringing.
- Old switchboards and transformers. Both full of copper.
Why a yard quotes a range and not a number
Two reasons. The market moves daily, and the grade is only known once it is in front of us. A clean, sorted load gets the top of the range. A mixed bin with plastic, timber and rubbish through it gets the bottom, because someone has to pull it apart.
The practical version: twenty minutes of sorting before you ring usually puts you at the better end of every band on that table.
Getting it weighed and paid
We weigh it in front of you and you get paid on the spot. Worth knowing that South Australia has new scrap metal laws coming that will change how dealers are allowed to pay and will make ID compulsory. They have not started yet.
We are open 7 days, 7am to 5pm, at 35 Jacobsen Cres, Holden Hill. If the load is too heavy to move, we will come to you.