There is no question that recycling and also reusing items, such as newspapers, clothing, and plastic bottles is important. After all, these small actions each day can help with the green movement. However, a section of the recycling industry that is not as popular, but that is just as important is recycling old metal. The fact is, exports of scrap metal are considered one of the biggest in the entire United States and when metals are recycled, the total amount of ore drilling in the world is able to be reduced.

Some of the scrap metal recycling items you can actually earn money for include iron, brass, aluminum, steel, and copper. However, many people often throw these items away, not realizing that the metal prices today for recycling are actually higher than they have been in years.

Make Money Recycling Scrap Metal

What many people simply don’t know is that the majority of scrap metal is able to be recycled for cash at the local scrap yard. If you are interested in recycling your scrap items, it is a good idea to get to know what the going price of scrap metal is right now. Since these yards see a large amount of scrap in some cases, you may not be able to get top dollar, but something is better than nothing when you were just going to throw it out anyway, right?

The Magnet Test

When you are ready to recycle your scrap metal, you need to start by separating your non-ferrous and ferrous metal. The best way to do this is by using a magnet. If the magnet will stick to the metal, then this is a ferrous metal and something common such as iron or steel. This is not worth as much as non-ferrous metal.

If the magnet doesn’t stick to the item, then this is non-ferrous. This includes items such as bronze, stainless steel, brass, aluminum, and copper. These items are typically worth more.

Once you have your items sorted, head to the scrap yard. The more items you have, the more money you can earn, and you have the added bonus of doing something great for the environment.