Intro To Recycling

Posted on: 8 September 2015

Metal recycling newcomers have a number of different questions, with price often being a common area of concern. People want a concise estimate of how much they can potentially earn for their scrap pieces. Providing an answer to this question is difficult. There are a variety of circumstances that effect the price of scrap metal before it's smeltered. Familiarizing yourself with these different factors will make it easier to understand just why a price estimate is more difficult than you may have imagined.

International Development

Just because you recycle domestically, doesn't mean your pieces don't have an international destination. Through an international trading practice, development needs around the world can have an effect on the price of scrap metal in the United States. This is especially the case when it comes to countries with limited access to materials, such as third-world locations.

When these areas experience a boom in technology and land development, infrastructures like new power lines and cell phone towers have to be constructed. When local resources get tapped out, the international community is called on for help. This request for help often translates into more money for your scrap pieces.

Stock Market

Another price determinant is the status of the commodity on the stock market. Typically, the higher the price of the commodity on the market, the more money you can expect to earn off your recycled pieces. The stock market value is used as a tool to help figure out the value of metal at the end of its life cycle.

Don't make the mistake of assuming the stock market price per pound is what you can expect to earn, it's only a starting gauge. However, even with that said, you can expect to earn more when stock prices are up.

Time of Year

The time of year when you're recycling can also have an effect on how much you can expect to receive for your scrap metal. The reason for this boils down to the fact that demand is higher during certain parts of the year. Take a recycling center that primarily works with local automobile manufactures. Typically, automobile companies have a certain period when they manufacture most of their vehicles.

During this time of year, a person recycling could probably expect to receive a greater return on their pieces than during the time of year when the automobile manufacturer is not in a period of active production.

As a newcomer, it's important to understand that scrap metal recycling prices are often hard to concisely pinpoint. However, with regular participation in the process, you will understand more and more how prices are affected.