Aluminum Cans Scrap Price Today

What is Aluminum Cans?

Common scrap sources: aluminum cans (5-gallon bag, crushed).

How to prep Aluminum Cans

Prep guidance for items that contain Aluminum Cans:

• Aluminum Cans (5-gallon bag, crushed): Crush each can flat (foot or can-crusher) to roughly triple bag capacity for the same weight. Rinse soda and beer residue first — sticky cans attract pests in storage and may be downgraded at intake for contamination. Most yards weigh by the bag rather than counting cans, so denser is always better.

Aluminum Cans — 90-day price history

What drives the Aluminum Cans market

End-use demand for Aluminum Cans sits with beverage and food packaging. On the supply side, the steady stream of yard inflow comes from household and event recycling streams. Activity in beverage packaging ends up showing in posted yard prices over a couple weeks. Yards see soda and beer cans across tickets from both households and trade customers. Recovered material feeds the can-to-can closed loop with major beverage producers, which keeps the recycling loop tight. For sellers, the practical takeaway is that posted yard rates for Aluminum Cans reflect both the broader commodity benchmark and the local downstream demand from beverage packaging, so calling two or three nearby yards on the same morning gives a useful read on what rates are doing that week.

How Aluminum Cans grades differ on the price board

Pricing across Aluminum grades depends on how clean the material is. Aluminum Extrusion pays the highest of the family because it can be used directly as billet stock for new extrusion. Aluminum (Mixed) pays a lower rate, which reflects attached steel, plastic, or paint. Most of the spread can be closed by removing residual liquid, food waste, and pull tabs of mixed alloy before bringing the material in.

Frequently asked about Aluminum Cans

What lowers the price a yard pays for Aluminum Cans?

The main deductions come from attached steel, plastic, or paint. If the material has visible residual liquid, food waste, and pull tabs of mixed alloy, the yard either downgrades the ticket or applies a flat deduction.

Where can I sell Aluminum Cans near me?

You can search yards by ZIP code from the search page and filter for ones that accept Aluminum Cans. Yards typically post their daily rates by phone or on a sign at the scale.

Will I get a higher price if I sort or clean my Aluminum Cans?

Yes — removing residual liquid, food waste, and pull tabs of mixed alloy before bringing material in usually lands you in a cleaner grade on the price board. Even an hour of prep work at home can move the ticket up.

How are yard prices for Aluminum Cans different from the spot price?

Spot is the wholesale benchmark. Yards pay a fraction of spot to cover sorting, shipping to a downstream mill or refiner, and their own margin. The fraction varies by grade and by how much volume the yard moves.

How is Aluminum Cans weighed and paid?

Yards weigh material on a public scale and pay by the pound. The posted rate on the day you bring it in is what applies — calling ahead is the safest way to confirm.

Why does Aluminum Cans pricing change from week to week?

Posted yard rates for Aluminum Cans follow underlying commodity benchmarks plus a yard-specific margin. When the benchmark moves, posted prices catch up within a couple business days at the typical yard.

What does Aluminum Cans go into?

Common items that contain Aluminum Cans. Click any item to see its full value breakdown.

Find yards near you that buy Aluminum Cans

Enter your ZIP to see scrap yards in the Aluminum category within range.

Compare other Aluminum grades

Aluminum Cans Prices by State

Local market context and yards buying aluminum cans in each state.