How we check prices and listings
Scrapyards.io prices are estimates, not quotes from any yard: a daily US average per scrap grade, computed from metal spot prices (or a fixed reference value for a few grades). Yard listings were carried over from this site's earlier directory and are checked against Google Maps and the yards' own websites. Always call a yard to confirm its prices and hours.
Page last reviewed Nov 10, 2026. Prices last updated Nov 10, 2026.
1. Scrap price estimates
- Once a day we fetch the latest spot prices for copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, gold and silver from MetalpriceAPI (USD per troy ounce, converted to USD per pound for base metals; gold and silver stay per troy ounce).
- Each grade's price is that spot price times a grade factor set by Scrapyards.io (brass uses a copper/zinc mix). The factors reflect how clean each grade is; they are our own assumptions, not published by an exchange.
- Steel, iron, stainless steel, circuit boards, car batteries and catalytic converters use fixed reference values that are not updated from a market feed, so their 30-day change is usually 0%.
- A grade's price can be pinned by hand for a set period; a pinned price does not change until the pin ends.
- All prices are US averages. State price pages show the same US average and list that state's yards; we do not have state-specific prices.
- Prices visitors report on yard pages are shown on that yard's page after review. They are not mixed into the averages.
| Grade | How it is calculated | Latest US estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Bare Bright Copper | copper spot × 0.96 | $5.54/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| #1 Copper | copper spot × 0.92 | $5.31/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| #2 Copper | copper spot × 0.82 | $4.73/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Insulated Copper Wire | copper spot × 0.45 | $2.60/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Copper Pipe (Clean) | copper spot × 0.89 | $5.14/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Aluminum (Mixed) | aluminum spot × 0.55 | $0.70/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Aluminum Cans | aluminum spot × 0.75 | $0.95/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Aluminum Extrusion | aluminum spot × 0.78 | $0.99/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Steel (Heavy Melt) | fixed reference value | $285/ton (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Light Iron / Sheet | fixed reference value | $215/ton (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Cast Iron | fixed reference value | $0.18/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Stainless Steel (304) | fixed reference value | $0.62/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Yellow Brass | (0.65 × copper + 0.35 × zinc) spot × 0.85 | $3.65/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Red Brass | (0.85 × copper + 0.15 × zinc) spot × 0.85 | $4.37/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Lead (Soft) | lead spot × 0.92 | $0.72/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Lead Wheel Weights | lead spot × 0.65 | $0.51/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Zinc Die Cast | zinc spot × 0.7 | $1.08/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Low-Grade Circuit Board | fixed reference value | $0.85/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| High-Grade Circuit Board | fixed reference value | $8.20/lb (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Silver (.999) | silver spot × 1 | $53.07/oz (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Gold (.999) | gold spot × 1 | $4116.74/oz (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Car Battery | fixed reference value | $8.50/each (Nov 10, 2026) |
| Catalytic Converter | fixed reference value | $95.00/each (Nov 10, 2026) |
For exchange prices, see the London Metal Exchange and COMEX. Scrap yards pay less than exchange prices; how much less varies by yard, grade and volume.
2. Item values and the calculator
The What's it worth pages and the calculator multiply each item's typical metal content (by weight) by the grade prices above, then assume a yard pays 50–70% of those grade prices. That gives the low–high range shown. Weights are typical values for the item type, not measurements of your item.
3. Yard listings
- Names, addresses, phone numbers, hours, websites and accepted materials were carried over from this site's earlier WordPress directory when it moved to its current software on May 9, 2026 (8,296 entries, de-duplicated to 7,722 yards).
- 1,421 yards have been looked up on Google Maps (Places API) on Sep 8, 2026. 174 that Google lists as permanently closed are hidden from every list (their own page stays up with a notice).
- 3,277 yard websites were checked for a working link (latest check Oct 11, 2026); 1,859 responded. Results are used to choose which listings to re-check; listings are not changed automatically.
- Each yard page says where its details came from and, if it has been looked up on Google Maps, when. The short “About” text on yard and city pages is generated from the listing data by fixed sentence templates.
- State law sections on state pages summarize statutes and link to them; they are not legal advice.
- ZIP code locations: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
4. What we do not guarantee
Prices are estimates and can differ a lot from what a yard pays you. Hours, phone numbers and accepted materials can change without us knowing. Scrapyards.io is independent: it is not run by any scrap yard, recycler, exchange or government agency, and we do not buy or sell scrap.
5. Corrections
Email [email protected] with the page address and what is wrong. Every yard page has a “Report a mistake” link. We list 7,722 yard records in total, so we rely on these reports.