Learn / How Recycling Works
In short: your scrap is sorted by type, processed down to a workable size, melted, and turned back into new metal, usually within a matter of weeks, not years. Here's what actually happens at each step, and why it matters for what you get paid.
Scrap is picked up or dropped off from a household clear-out, a job site, a factory, or a demolition, and reaches a buyer or yard.
Material is separated by type, ferrous from non-ferrous, then further by grade: clean copper from cable, mixed steel from stainless.
Large pieces are cut, sheared, or shredded down to a manageable size; cars and appliances are stripped of non-metal parts and fluids first.
Sorted, processed scrap is melted in a furnace and refined, removing impurities so it meets the specification for new metal.
The molten metal is cast into new material (sheet, bar, wire, or ingots) that becomes new cars, cans, appliances, and buildings.
Metal is one of the few materials that stays genuinely valuable no matter how many times it's reused. Melting and reforming steel or aluminium doesn't meaningfully change its properties, so it can be recycled again and again without "downgrading" the way some plastics do. That's also why there's a real, functioning market for it. Mills and foundries need raw material, and recycled scrap is usually cheaper and quicker to turn into new metal than mining and refining it from ore. Nobody is doing you a favour by buying your scrap; they're buying a genuinely useful input to their own business, which is exactly why prices move with real market demand.
Ferrous metal (steel and iron) and non-ferrous metal (copper, aluminium, brass, and others) are processed differently and sold into different markets, which is why they're kept separate from the very first sorting step. Our ferrous vs non-ferrous guide covers this in detail. It's the single biggest factor in what your scrap is actually worth.
ScrapTrade doesn't process metal itself. It's the marketplace that connects you, the seller, with the buyers and yards who do. You list what you have, buyers who actually need that material at that grade compete for it or make an offer, and once a deal is agreed, payment is held securely until pickup or delivery is confirmed. Check today's indicative prices before you list, so you know roughly what to expect.
Metal is one of the most reliably recycled materials there is, precisely because it's worth money at every stage. Nobody in the chain has an incentive to throw away something they can sell. Once it's sold, scrap metal is processed and melted down into new metal, not landfilled.
Essentially indefinitely for most common metals. Steel and aluminium in particular don't lose their basic properties from being melted down and reformed, which is why a soft drink can, a car, or a building's structural steel can all trace some of their material back through many previous lives.
Because it's a real input to their business, not waste. A steel mill or foundry needs raw material to make new metal, and scrap is usually cheaper and faster to process than mining and refining virgin ore. That's the whole reason a market for scrap exists: it's a commodity, not rubbish.
It still gets recycled, but it's worth less, and sometimes has to be sorted further (by hand or machine) before it can go through processing. See our guide on grading your scrap to understand why sorting before you sell usually gets you a better price.
Use ScrapTrade's free calculator, then list it for free on the marketplace.
