Barley · Berry · Birch/Cliff
Copper
We buy bright wire, tube, busbar and windings, and granulate insulated cable in house. Copper carries the widest spread between grades of any metal…
Troma · Tense · Taint/Tabor
Aluminium
Extrusion, sheet, alloy wheels, castings, UBC bales and machine shop turnings. Light, high volume, and heavily affected by attachments and coatings.
Honey · Ebony · Ocean
Brass & bronze
Plumbing fittings, valve bodies, radiator ends, gunmetal and lathe borings. Dense, valuable, and often mistaken for bronze.
HMS 1 · HMS 2 · Frag
Steel & iron
Structural offcuts, plate, cast iron, rebar and end-of-life plant, with shearing and baling on site. Low value per tonne, high value in volume.
304 · 316 · 430
Stainless
Grade tested by handheld XRF before pricing. Catering, brewing, chemical and fabrication scrap, where the difference between 304 and 316 is worth real money.
Racks · Zinc die-cast
Lead & zinc
Roofing lead, flashing, balance weights and die-cast zinc, handled under permit. Dense, valuable and subject to particular care over provenance.
Grading
Why two identical piles fetch different prices
Scrap is priced on what a refiner has to do to it before it can be used again. Almost everything that separates a good price from a poor one is decided before your load leaves your yard.
Separation
A mixed load is paid at the lowest grade in it. Splitting bright copper wire from general copper is usually the single most profitable hour a seller spends.
Attachments
Steel fixings, plastic clips, rubber seals and concrete are all deducted from the weight. A magnet run over an aluminium load finds most of them in seconds.
Coatings
Paint, lacquer, solder and tinning move copper from No. 1 to No. 2. Anodising on aluminium is fine; heavy powder coating is not.
Moisture
Water in tube, cutting fluid in swarf and rain in an open skip all add weight you will not be paid for. Store under cover where you can.
Before you book
What we cannot accept
All of it for safety rather than preference. Tell us in advance if you have any of these and we will arrange the right handling, rather than turning up and refusing the load.
- Gas cylinders and pressure vesselsIncluding anything previously pressurised, whether or not you believe it is empty.
- Sealed containersDrums, tanks and vessels that have not been opened, cleaned and confirmed empty.
- Asbestos-containing materialCommon in older plant, boiler housings and industrial cladding. Needs a licensed contractor.
- Lead-acid batteries in a general loadHazardous waste, handled separately. Never break or drain one.
- Fuel, oil and chemical residuePlant and machinery must be drained before collection.
- Munitions and radioactive sourcesRare, but it happens in site clearances. Stop work and call us.
Not sure what you have?
Send a photo and we will tell you
You do not need to identify the grade yourself. Photograph the pile, give us a rough weight, and we will grade it properly on the weighbridge in front of you.
Common questions about materials
Do I need to sort the metal before you collect it?
No. Separation is on us, and we would rather sort it ourselves than have it sorted wrongly. That said, if you can confidently separate bright copper wire from general copper, or keep gunmetal apart from yellow brass, it is worth doing because those splits carry the widest price gaps.
If you are unsure what something is, leave it as it is. Guessing costs more than not sorting.
What is the smallest load you will collect?
Free collection applies on qualifying loads, generally from around 500 kg depending on the metal and how far we are travelling. Below that we can still collect, but the journey may cost more than the metal is worth, in which case we will tell you and offer a small-load option rather than quoting and adding a fee later.
How do you know my stainless is 316 and not 304?
Handheld XRF analysis, carried out in front of you. The two are visually identical and price differently, so neither of us benefits from a guess. A magnet will separate ferritic grades such as 430, but it cannot distinguish 304 from 316.
Can I burn insulation off cable to get a better price?
No. It is an offence under environmental legislation, it damages the copper, and we will not buy burnt cable. We granulate insulated cable in house and pay on the metal actually recovered, which is almost always better than what burning would leave you with.
Do you buy from private individuals or only businesses?
Both. The identity checks required by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 apply either way, so bring photo ID and proof of address, and expect payment by bank transfer rather than cash.
Ready when you are
Send a photo. Get a price.
Message a picture of the pile with a rough weight and a postcode, and we will quote against this week's board — no site visit needed to get started.