How should a tradie separate different metal types on-site to get the best price?
Short answer: The simplest effective approach is keeping a small number of clearly labelled containers in your van or on-site (one for clean copper, one for insulated/PVC-sheathed wire, one for other metals like steel or aluminium), since mixed loads are typically paid at the lowest common rate, while pre-sorted material — especially clean, insulation-free copper — earns significantly more per kilo.
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List Free →Why mixed loads cost you money
Scrap yards typically price a mixed load at the rate of its lowest-value component, or apply extra processing deductions to sort it themselves — the sorting labour you avoid on-site gets charged back to you at the yard.
A practical on-site system
Two or three containers is usually enough for most trades: clean bare copper, insulated wire/cable, and everything else (steel, aluminium, brass fittings). This captures most of the price difference without adding meaningful complexity to your day.
Stripping insulated wire
Whether it’s worth stripping insulation from wire yourself depends on volume and your time value — for larger volumes, some tradies find it worthwhile; for smaller volumes, selling it as insulated wire (at a lower rate) is usually more efficient overall.
How ScrapTrade Helps
ScrapTrade shows separate pricing by material grade, so you can see exactly how much pre-sorting is actually worth before committing the time.
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