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Just trying to get an idea if people are able to sell aluminum beverage cans and aluminum cat food cans.

Around here in Spotsylvania, VA, very few scrap yards are taking aluminum beverage cans as well as aluminum cat food cans. If they take them at all, they’re only offering .10lb

Prior to covid, everyone was taking them at .30lb

I thought that by now, we’d be back to “normal”?

Anyway, just checking to see if anyone is able to sell their aluminum beverage and aluminum cat food cans at their local scrap yards. And, what you’re getting for them.

Thanks in advance.

RFIIi

Around Chattanooga, Tn, price is from 40 to 50 cents per pound for cans. Cast and sheet aluminum slightly less, and clips and extrusions/wheels, etc up to 72 cents per pound.

Where I am I get 50 cents a pound for them. They go as old sheet for me.
Clean aluminum wheels go for 80 cents a pound and clean extrusions are at 70 cents a pound.

Over in Seattle, I get around 40 cents a pound for both cans and sheet aluminum, I get 70 a pound for extruded.

In Denver, CO, I get 57 cents a pound for cans and 75 cents a pound for extrusion. Cast is 40 cents a pound and sheet aluminum is 42 cents a pound.

Already posted the local price in Chattanooga, Tn, but to put price in perspective, back in the 1980's cans were thicker gauge, so that about 22 cans made one pound. Now it is more like 30 or more. At the time aluminum cans were bringing 60 to 80 cents per pound, and gasoline was around 60 cents a gallon. Being quite a bit younger than now, more adventuresome, I had no hesitation to jump in my little Datsun pickup, which got 25 to 30 mpg and head for parts unknown. Since it only took 3 aluminum cans per mile to buy gas, I would stop at interchanges, pick up cans, until I got to another town that had a recycle center, sell my cans, and travel another 200 miles on the proceeds of my sale.

Thanks for the info all.

Here in Spotsyltuky, VA we’re not getting squat for aluminum beverage cans or cat food cans. Like I said earlier, it’s either, no one is accepting them, or, .10lb. Absolutely ridiculous.

We’re still getting good money for extruded, cast and sheet aluminum. And of course, clean aluminum/copper and aluminum radiators are still bringing good money as well.

I have a pile, big pile of aluminum beverage cans and cat food cans. Not letting ‘em go for .10lb nor am I giving them away. I will be holding on to them and accumulating them until we’re back up to at least the previous .30lb.

No, it’s not much money either way. But they aren’t hurting anything sitting around waiting !

Thanks again for the replies. Looks like some of you are getting great prices for aluminum beverage cans. I’m a bit jealous!!!

RFIII

Meowpher,

Yup, when I was a young teen in the mid ‘70s, I used to walk the drainage ditches along side the road with a bag collecting returnable bottles for ten cents a piece.

The light at the end of the tunnel was the local 7Eleven. My brothers, cousins and I would turn in our sacks of bottles for easy money.

We’d then hit up the local McDonalds and treat ourselves to either a whopper or 1/4lb’er meal. Then walk back to the 7Eleven and load up on candy, gum and soda. The daredevil in the group would spring for a pack smokes and off we’d go.

We were all too young to drive then. All done on foot. Great summertime memories!

Enjoy,

RFIII

They eventually wind up in the compactor when I don’t have other stuff stored in it.

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Haven't sold any cans in a long time, I leave those for my parents so they can get a little money occasionally.

But there is a yard that I go to (central Texas) that sells their material to bigger yards (thus lower prices on everything) that I think just got back to taking cans for $0.30 a pound. I imagine bigger yards are closer to $0.50 but couldn't confirm that.

Also when cat food cans started showing up when I worked at a scrap yard the manager of the yard didn't want to take them at all, plastic lining in the cans. But us workers would slip them in the aluminum breakage if they were clean so that we didn't turn customers away.

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