Scrap Metal Types Explained
Scrap is priced by what the metal is and how clean it is — not just its weight. This guide defines every common material a yard buys, in plain English, so you can recognize what you have before you bring it in.
Hold a magnet to it. If it sticks, the metal is ferrous (iron or steel — the most common, lowest-value scrap). If it doesn't stick, it's non-ferrous (copper, brass, aluminum, stainless, lead) — usually worth much more per pound.
Copper
The most valuable common scrap metal — reddish-orange, non-magnetic. Yards grade it by cleanliness:
- Copper #1 (bare bright): clean, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire or tube with no solder, paint, or corrosion. The top grade.
- Copper #2: copper that's dirty, painted, soldered, or lightly corroded — still copper, but a step down.
- Insulated wire: copper inside plastic insulation (house wire, extension cords). Priced by its recoverable copper content ("yield").
Where it comes from: plumbing pipe, electrical wire, electric-motor windings, and air-conditioner/radiator tubing.
Brass
A copper-zinc alloy — gold-to-yellow colored, heavier than it looks, non-magnetic.
- Yellow brass: the common kind — plumbing fittings, valves, keys, faucets, bullet casings, hardware.
- Red (semi-red) brass: higher copper content, so worth more — older valves and fittings.
How to tell: yellow/gold color and weight. If a "gold" item is light and magnetic, it's plated steel, not brass.
Aluminum
Light, silvery, non-magnetic, and doesn't rust. Graded by form and cleanliness:
- Sheet / extrusion: clean aluminum like siding, gutters, and window frames.
- Cast aluminum: thicker cast pieces such as transmission cases and wheels.
- Cans (UBC): used beverage cans — a category of their own.
- Aluminum-copper (radiators): mixed AC and radiator cores, priced separately because they contain copper too.
Where it comes from: gutters, window frames, wheels, engine parts, cans, and AC units.
Ferrous metal (iron & steel)
Anything a magnet sticks to. It's the most common and lowest-value scrap — but it adds up by the ton.
- Light iron / sheet steel: thin steel — appliances, car body panels, ductwork.
- Cast iron: heavy, brittle iron — brake rotors, engine blocks, radiators, cookware.
- Prepared vs unprepared: "prepared" is cut to size to fit a furnace and pays a little more than large, unprepared pieces.
Stainless steel
A shiny, corrosion-resistant steel alloy containing nickel and chromium. It's weakly magnetic or non-magnetic, which sets it apart from regular steel.
- 304: the everyday grade — sinks, kitchen and food equipment, appliances.
- 316: marine/industrial grade with more nickel, so it's worth more.
How to tell: bright, doesn't rust, and a magnet barely grabs it (or not at all). The nickel content is what gives it value.
Lead
Heavy, soft, dull-grey and non-magnetic — you can often scratch it with a coin. Found in wheel weights, roofing/flashing, old pipe, and inside batteries.
Lead-acid batteries
Standard car and truck batteries. They're bought as their own category (by the pound or each) for the lead and acid inside — never toss them in with steel.
Catalytic converters
The muffler-shaped exhaust part isn't valued as steel — it's valued for the tiny amounts of platinum, palladium, and rhodium (PGMs) in its honeycomb core. Converters are priced by their make/serial code and metal content, not by weight, which is why quotes vary so widely. (South Carolina regulates converter sales — see our Catalytic Converter Law guide.)
Electric motors & e-scrap
Electric motors are steel shells wound with copper — priced between steel and copper because of the copper inside. Sealed compressors and wiring harnesses fall in the same "mixed" family.
Ferrous vs non-ferrous — the bottom line
Ferrous (magnetic: steel, iron) is your bulk, lower-value scrap. Non-ferrous (non-magnetic: copper, brass, aluminum, stainless, lead) is where the real money is. Sorting your load by type before you sell almost always pays more than bringing a mixed pile.