If you are new to recycling scrap metal, you may not know that one of the biggest factors in price is how your metal is organized and cleaned. Recycling scrap metal is both great for the environment and an effective way to make some spare cash. However, there are a lot of things that will impact how much cash you make. Choosing the right yard, choosing the right season, choosing how much scrap metal you recycle at once, and organizing your metal will all greatly impact how valuable your metal is. One of the easiest ways to get the most for your metal is to
Identify The Metal
The first and most important step in organization is identifying what types of metal you have. The key difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals is that ferrous metals contain iron and are therefore magnetic. Separating your ferrous and non ferrous metals can help make the organizing process easier. Additionally you should keep like metals together. If you have copper wiring, it should be with other copper metals, and if you have aluminum you should keep it with aluminum.
Cleaning Metals
When people hear that there is a difference between clean and unclean metals they may think scrap yards are asking you to power wash metals. That’s not the case. A clean metal refers to any metal component that doesn’t have anything hanging off of it, or other metals attached to it. Metal is weighed to determine its price. So scrap yards prefer that the metal you provide is 100% metal and not any other elements. Break pieces of metal into their base components, remove any nuts or insulation (for copper wiring). Unclean metal is bought for a large discount compared to clean metal.
How To Organize Copper For Scrap Metal Recycling
Copper metal is one of the most profitable metals you can sell. It is found mostly in wires as well as piping and tubing. The cleaner the copper the higher it will be rated. There is #1, #2, and #3 copper. The lower the number the purer the copper. Removing any insulation, rubber, paint, rust, and solder will greatly impact the value of your copper wire. 
How To Organize Computer Parts
Technology is constantly advancing, and for that reason it is likely that something that was good a few years ago is obsolete today. The best way to make money on computer parts is to break them into their smallest components and separate the parts based on the metal they are made of.
Contact Second Street Iron & Metal
If you have questions about scrap metal recycling please contact our team. We would be happy to tell you about our prices, the metals that we buy, and give you advice on how to make more on your scrap metal.