"Scrap air conditioner" is searched about 110 times a month in Australia, according to Ubersuggest, with "scrap air conditioner price" about 40, and the click price is high, about A$6, which suggests that removal and recycling firms bid hard for it. The searchers have a dead or replaced unit and want to know whether it is worth anything. The honest answer is that it is worth the metal in it, and the value depends on how the unit is handled. This guide explains what is inside, how yards usually value it, why the refrigerant comes first and how to get a quote you can trust. It sits beside our guides on how much scrap metal is in a water heater and selling a used or broken washing machine or fridge. We give no prices. ScrapTrade runs a scrap marketplace and has a commercial interest in the scrap trade.
What is inside
A scrap yard sees an air conditioner as a pile of metals. One Perth yard says it uses copper, brass, electric motors and aluminium and copper radiators from air conditioning units, and it lists compressors and fan motors as accepted too. In a split system the indoor and outdoor coils are the main value: they are made of copper tubing and aluminium fins, which yards sell as aluminium and copper radiators. The rest is steel casing, plastic, wiring, a compressor and a fan motor.
How a yard values it
Yards pay by weight and by how clean the metal is. A source advising sellers says separated loads, stripped copper and clean aluminium usually pay more than mixed or contaminated scrap, and yards commonly ask you to remove plastic and rubber so the material unloads faster. The same logic applies to a whole unit. A complete outdoor unit may be bought as mixed material at a lower rate than the copper, aluminium and motor sold separately, and whether the extra work pays depends on your time and the yard's rates, which we could not verify.
We found no reliable Australian price for a whole air conditioner. One Victorian recycler lists scrap aluminium at a wide range by grade, on a page dated June 2026, and a New Zealand price list shows a per-kilogram rate for aluminium and copper radiators that is not a guide to Australian yards. Several other results were an Indian blog in rupees, a generic page and what looked like staging sites, so we ignore them. For metal prices see our guides to scrap aluminium prices and scrap copper prices, and treat them as a guide to the grade, not a quote for your unit.
The refrigerant comes first
An air conditioner holds refrigerant gas, and in Australia the gas must be recovered before the unit goes to a yard or the tip. Under the Australian Refrigeration Council's licensing, work that decommissions a unit holding fluorocarbon gas needs a licensed person, and the council points householders to a licensed technician. Our guide to air conditioner disposal and refrigerant rules sets this out in full. For scrap, the practical point is that a unit with the gas still in it is a problem for the yard and for you, so ask whether the yard will take it and who recovers the gas.
How to get a quote that means something
- Photograph the unit and its label. The make, model, type and size tell a yard what is inside.
- Give an approximate weight, or weigh the pieces. Yards price by weight.
- Ask for the copper and the ali-copper coils separately if you strip them. Stripping needs a licensed person to have recovered the gas first.
- Ask two or three yards the same questions. What do they pay for a whole unit, for coils and for the compressor, and what do they charge or refuse?
- Ask about the gas. Whether they take degassed units only and how they want proof.
- Keep the receipt. It shows the unit left your hands.
When scrapping is not the best option
A working unit can be worth more resold. Our guide to selling a used air conditioner explains how, and the answer depends on age and condition. A dead unit is scrap, and a replaced one may be collected by the installer, who may charge for disconnection and removal, so ask for the price up front.
Where ScrapTrade fits
A single indoor unit is not worth a marketplace listing. The marketplace suits an air-conditioning contractor, a building manager or a demolition crew clearing several units, or someone with separated copper and aluminium. Metals are the core of what the marketplace trades, and verified buyers in more than 50 countries bid on lots. There is no listing fee or commission, you agree terms in chat, and the buyer's 5 percent deposit is held in escrow once a bid is accepted. Sellers, whether businesses or individuals, are verified first. Whether a whole unit with its refrigerant circuit can be listed is something we could not confirm, so ask cs@scraptrade.com.au.
For radiators and ali-copper coils, see Scrap Radiators: Copper, Brass or Aluminium.
For the global view, with US, UK and EU examples, see Scrap Air Conditioner: Metal Value and Sale.
What we could not verify
- What any unit is worth. We found no reliable Australian price.
- Whether yards pay more for stripped coils. One source says clean separated metal pays more, and we did not see rates.
- How each yard handles gas. Policies differ.
- Whether ScrapTrade lists whole units.
Frequently asked questions
Is an old air conditioner worth anything as scrap?
It is worth its metal, mainly copper and aluminium, plus the compressor and motors. We found no reliable Australian price, so ask yards for a quote.
Can I take an air conditioner to the scrap yard myself?
Many yards accept them, but the refrigerant must be recovered first by a licensed person, so ask the yard what it requires.
Should I strip the copper out?
It can pay more, according to advice for sellers, but stripping needs the gas recovered first and we found no Australian rates to compare.
How do I get the best price?
Photograph the unit, give a weight and ask two or three yards for the same quote.
Would ScrapTrade take my old unit?
It trades scrap metal, and separated copper or aluminium is the safer fit. For a whole unit, ask support first.
Sources
- Ubersuggest keyword data, Australia, queried November 2026.
- Australian scrap yard pages on air conditioning units and scrap preparation advice, as summarised in search results.
- Australian Refrigeration Council fact sheets on refrigerant licences, as summarised in search results.
- ScrapTrade website, accessed November 2026.
Information only, not legal or financial advice. Yards and rules vary.