Grades Of Scrap Copper Explained For Scrap Copper Recycling Adelaide.

Copper is very sought after for recycling, in fact of all the metals people can drop off at one of Adelaide’s most popular Scrap Metal Recyclers, Pooraka Bottle & Can Recycling Depot, ‘Bright & Shiny’ copper has the highest pay out per Kg.
This means if you’re looking to make money recycling scrap metals, collect as much copper as you can get your hands on. Like aluminium, copper is 100% recyclable without any loss of quality, regardless of whether it’s in a raw state or contained in a manufactured product. In volume, copper is the third most recycled metal after iron and aluminium. It is estimated that 80% of the copper ever mined is still in productive use today.
Plumbing pipes and electrical wire are the two most popular applications.

The 4 Grades Of Scrap Copper Explained

When handed in for recycling, it’s important to understand the different terms and their meaning when describing the grades or quality of this very common metal and therefore how much money you can make.

Bright & Shiny

The highest grade, it can not have any impurities like lacquer, adhesive or rust on the surface.
High grade scrap copper is melted in a furnace and then reduced and cast into ingots. Lower purity copper scrap is refined by electroplating in a bath of sulfuric acid. The payout amount becomes less as the cost of more work required increases to get the scrap to a ‘Bright & Shiny’ condition.

Copper #1

Bare, uncoated, unalloyed copper that is free of attachments and solder. Minimal surface oxidation is Ok.

Copper

One of the most common grades, it mainly comprises copper piping with large brass fittings such as taps, lacquered or enamelled copper, greasy or burnt copper and also painted copper. It however cannot contain other types of metal such as steel, aluminium or stainless steel. Typically the copper content is 88%.

PVC Coated Copper Wire

Common insulated cable is wire that’s coated with PVC, found almost everywhere with electrical wiring and domestic appliances.

As with all scrap metal recycling, you will be paid out by what you bring in per Kg.
To make your stay as quick as possible, separate out each type of scrap metal and if you have two or more grades of copper, separate them out too.

Take a look at the scrap metal prices per Kg you’ll be paid cash for when bringing in your scrap metal to the scrap metal recyclers Adelaide residents have used for more than 30 years, conveniently located at 10 Ween Rd Pooraka.

If you have any questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Recycling Questions page, before calling us. The question you have has probably been asked by someone else before, so to make it easier for you we have already supplied the answer.