An honest starting point: if you want a single car towed away for cash today, that's a local wrecker's job, not ScrapTrade's. If you're dealing with more than one vehicle, or you want to understand the real value before accepting the first offer, this is the more useful read.
~600 kg
The bulk of a vehicle's recoverable weight, the body, chassis, and structural components.
~90 kg
Engine blocks, wheels, and increasingly the body panels on newer vehicles, growing as manufacturers lightweight for fuel efficiency.
~10 kg
Older engine and brake components, a smaller share on most modern vehicles than it once was.
Those figures are typical for an average passenger vehicle, not a guarantee for any specific car, and they cover the bulk metal content only. A catalytic converter and a working battery are usually valued separately, and often carry more value per item than the surrounding sheet steel.
~850,000
Roughly 5% of the national vehicle fleet.
~1.36 Mt
Across the whole fleet reaching end-of-life each year.
~70%
The remainder is destined primarily for landfill, mostly non-metal materials.
~1,465
Mostly small to medium operators, per a 2024 FCAI/MTAA industry study.
These figures come from a 2024 study by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Motor Trades Association of Australia, the most current, comprehensive industry data available on the subject. The honest headline is the 30% not currently recovered: dismantlers are genuinely effective at salvaging reusable parts and metals, that's the part of the business model that pays, but the sector has fewer viable options for non-metal materials, plastics, foams, composites, which is where most of the recovery gap sits.
A licensed local wrecker or scrap car removal service is the realistic option, they tow, they pay on the spot, and the whole transaction is over in one visit. This is honestly not what ScrapTrade is built for.
A fleet being decommissioned, a panel shop clearing written-off vehicles, or simply wanting more than one offer instead of the first tow-truck quote, this is where a structured listing or an RFQ to verified recycler and auto-wrecker buyers actually earns its keep. With around 1,465 dismantling and recycling businesses operating nationally, a single quote is rarely the only one available.
A vehicle isn't simply metal until it's been properly de-polluted first, a legal requirement, not an optional step for any licensed operator handling end-of-life vehicles. Fluids, engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, fuel, air conditioning refrigerant, all have to be drained and disposed of correctly before the vehicle can be shredded or crushed, since these substances are genuinely hazardous if they enter the general scrap stream or the environment directly.
The battery and any airbags also need to be removed and handled separately, lead- acid batteries through Australia's dedicated recycling system, and undeployed airbags carry a genuine safety risk if they end up in a shredder unaddressed. This is exactly why a licensed auto wrecker or dismantler, not an unlicensed operator offering the highest cash price with no questions asked, is the right choice regardless of which path, ScrapTrade or a local wrecker, ends up handling the sale itself.
Cancel the registration with your state's transport authority and remove the number plates, most states require this before a vehicle can be legally scrapped. Clear out personal items, and take a moment to check whether an intact engine, a still-working catalytic converter, or other specific parts might be worth more sold individually than left in the vehicle for its bulk metal value. For the business side of vehicle recycling specifically, auto wreckers sourcing at real volume, see scrap metal for auto wreckers.
No. If what you need is same-day towing and cash in hand for a single car, that's a licensed local wrecker or scrap car removal service, not something ScrapTrade offers. Being upfront about that now is better than a page that implies otherwise.
It fits a different situation: a business or individual dealing with multiple vehicles, a fleet being decommissioned, or someone who wants to list a vehicle's recoverable material and compare offers rather than accept the first tow-truck quote. Auto wreckers and other recyclers already buy through the platform for exactly this reason.
Around 850,000, roughly 5% of the national vehicle fleet, according to a 2024 industry study by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Motor Trades Association of Australia. Together they generate an estimated 1.36 million tonnes of waste material a year.
The same 2024 study found the industry currently recovers around 70% of it, largely the metal, with the remaining 30% going mostly to landfill, mostly non-metal materials like certain plastics and composites that dismantlers don't have a viable recovery path for yet. It's a genuine gap in the system, not a solved problem.
Mostly weight and recoverable metal content, an average vehicle contains roughly 600kg of steel, 90kg of aluminium, and smaller amounts of other metals, plus separately valuable components like the catalytic converter and battery. Condition, completeness, and whether it's been partially stripped all affect the final number.
Cancel the registration with your state authority, remove the number plates (most states require this), clear personal items, and check whether specific parts, an intact engine, a working catalytic converter, are worth more sold separately than left in the vehicle for bulk scrap value.
Usually not the best fit on its own, a single vehicle is a one-off, low-volume transaction, and a local wrecker offering immediate collection is typically the more practical choice. ScrapTrade becomes the better option once you're dealing with more than one vehicle, or want the recoverable metal handled as part of a broader scrap sale.
Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, and fuel are all classified as hazardous if they enter the general environment or contaminate other scrap during shredding. Removing them first, de-pollution, is a legal requirement for licensed dismantlers, not an optional step, and it's exactly why an unlicensed operator offering to skip the paperwork is a genuine red flag, not a convenience.
Tyres, plastics, glass, and interior materials each follow their own separate recycling or disposal path once removed, they're not simply shredded along with the metal body. A properly licensed dismantler handles this separation as a standard part of the process rather than an afterthought, though industry data shows a meaningful share of this non-metal material still isn't being recovered nationally.
Scrap metal dealers, including those handling vehicles, must be registered under state-specific schemes, mandatory in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia among others, and proper de-pollution before shredding is a separate environmental compliance requirement. Using an unlicensed operator can leave you without a paper trail for deregistration and skip legally required environmental handling.
Reach verified recycler and auto-wrecker buyers instead of taking the first quote.
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