What Are The Best Things To Scrap For Money?

When you are looking to make some extra cash by recycling scrap metal with your local yard, it can be as simple as finding items around your house. We have a guide of some common items that can be found throughout your house that can be brought to your local scrap yard. Most scrap yards take these items we are referring to, but some could classify them differently or not take them at all. The best option to be sure of is to find them on the iScrap App and contact them.

12 Common Household Items That Can Be Scrapped

Stainless Steel Sink – A common item found insidekitchens or bathrooms stainless steel sinks can be removed and brought to your local scrap yard. They must be kept separate from other metals so that they are not devalued when weighing them. Sometimes there will be plastic pieces or steel (check with magnet) that can make the sink a "dirty" material, therefore will be devalued.
Brass Faucets – Something that is commonly found with your sink is a brass faucet that can be brought to your local scrap yard. The brass faucets may have plastic pieces on them and should be removed if they can to get the most money for them.
Copper Pipe or Tubing – Also found along with your sinks and faucets is the copper pipe or tubing. Most water pipes inside homes are made from copper tubing and sometimes will have brass fixtures on them too. If you are renovating your kitchen or bathroom, it's a good idea to set the copper pipe aside, as it's one of the higher-priced scrap metals to recycle with your scrap yard.
Aluminum Pots & Pans – When you are searching through some of yourkitchen cabinets for scrap, you may find that you have some old and unusable pots and pans. That's another perfect item you can collect for your pile for the scrap yard. Pots & Pans will usually be classified as dirty aluminum when bringing it in for scrap.
Ceiling Fan Motors – When you have a broken ceiling fan, you can remove the wood or plastic blades of the fan and scrap the motor with your scrap yard. The ceiling fan motor will usually be thrown in with the electric motor pile at your scrap yard. With a copper coil inside that electric motor, you could see a good chunk of change and weight for that item. Also, check the fan blades too. With the wood removed you may have Cast Aluminum underneath.
Copper Yokes from TVs – Not commonly found in newer TVs these copper yokes can usually be found inside the back of tube TV. When you are recycling a TV be sure to call your scrap yard ahead of time because they may not accept the screens of TV's but they may take the components from inside like the Copper Yokes.
Power Outlets – Used normally for desks or TV stands, the power outlet strips can be recycled with your scrap yard as a "copper-bearing material". They won't be worth too much money in your yard, but if you have a few of them you can make some extra money. Also, be sure to cut off the wires from them to separate the wires for different scrap.
Mini-Transformers – Usually found on the end of cell phone, camera, and electronic chargers, these small black boxes can be worth some money with your local scrap yard. They have a small copper transformer inside that can be removed and scrapped. If you only have a few it's not worth it to remove the plastic, but if you have a larger quantity it may be worth your time to take them apart.
Backup Batteries & Surge Protectors – Many home offices have these below the desk to plug all the electronics into. These backup batteries allow electronics to be shut down properly in case of an electric outage. They are very useful if you are working on the computer and the lights go out. They are relatively heavy due to the battery inside. That can be scrapped with your local scrap yard for a few dollars.
Laptops – A common item that is scrapped in electronic scrap, are laptops. Sometimes scrap yards require those recycling laptops to remove the batteries, so be sure to check with your yard before bringing your in. Also, some scrap yards may not take electronics at all, so be sure to check with them before heading in.
Desktop Towers – A common electronic item scrapped is the desktop computer towers. They generally weigh 10-20 pounds and can be worth some good money if you bring them to your scrap yard. Similar to the laptops, be sure to check with your scrap yard if they accept them before bringing them in. Also if you feel like making some extra money on them, you can take them apart for the components inside.
Aluminum Lawn Chair – A common scene in most back yards are these lightweight, aluminum patio chairs. They can generally be scrapped with your local scrap yard. If you want to make some extra money on them, we suggested removing the plastic handles or weave to get the most money.

If you have any questions about items you can scrap from your home, please feel free to email us with pictures of the item so we can help you determine if it's worth the trip to your scrap yard.