Recycling aluminium scrap: grades, prices and what to do at source
Of all the non-ferrous metals that cross our yard, aluminium is the one where source preparation makes the most visible difference to the price. The physical chemistry of aluminium recycling tolerates a wide range of grades — but the market prices each grade separately, and the gap between the best and the worst can be large enough to be worth a conversation.
In short
- Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and recycling it saves roughly 95 % of the energy that primary smelting requires.
- Separating wrought alloys (profiles, sheet) from cast alloys (engine parts, wheels) is the most impactful sorting step.
- Turnings and swarf carry moisture and coolant deductions; keeping them dry and separate from clean profiles preserves the price.
Why aluminium is worth recycling carefully
Recycling aluminium saves roughly 95 % of the energy that primary smelting requires, because re-melting and re-casting consumes far less than extracting aluminium from bauxite. That environmental fact translates directly into economic value: aluminium keeps its worth through recycling cycles in a way that most materials do not.
The London Metal Exchange publishes daily reference prices for primary aluminium and several alloy classes. Secondary (recycled) aluminium trades at a discount to primary, but the spread narrows significantly for clean, well-sorted material. That is the lever a generator controls.
Main grades and what separates them
Clean extruded profile — window frames, structural sections, heat sinks — is the premium grade. It is one alloy class; surface coatings such as paint or anodising do not matter much at the smelter level, but iron inserts and fasteners still attached do. Mixed profiles from different alloy families, or profiles with steel hardware, fall into a lower grade because alloying elements have to be managed at the melt.
Cast aluminium — engine blocks, gearbox housings, wheels — is a different alloy family and must be kept separate from wrought alloys. Mixing cast and wrought is the mistake that costs the most at intake, because a smelter buying for one application cannot use the other, and the mixed lot is priced at the less valuable grade.
Turnings, swarf and shredded aluminium
Aluminium turnings and machining swarf are lower-density material with a large surface area, which means more oxide and more trapped coolant or cutting oil. They are weighed with deductions for moisture and contamination, and they go to secondary smelters that specifically handle turnings rather than to primary remelters.
Shredded aluminium — from car bodies, mixed-stream processing — is the most variable grade, because the alloy mix is unknown until spectrometry. If you can keep identifiable alloy families separate before they reach the shredder, that step is worth taking. Once in the shredder, the alloy mix is fixed and so is the price ceiling.
Foil, cans and mixed small-format aluminium
Aluminium foil and packaging — food trays, lidding, thin-walled containers — is a distinct grade, because the high surface-to-mass ratio and the frequent presence of food residues, lacquers and paper or plastic laminates require a different processing path from structural material. Keep it separate from profiles and cast alloys.
Beverage cans, if clean and uncontaminated, are a recoverable fraction — but for an industrial generator volumes are usually small. The practical question is whether they reach a separate container or go into a mixed lot where they are a minor fraction and treated accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the anodising or paint on aluminium profiles affect the price?
- Surface coatings burn off or are managed in the refining process, so they matter less than alloy composition. The more important factor is removing iron fasteners and keeping profiles of the same alloy family together.
- Can I mix aluminium cable and copper cable in the same container?
- No. Aluminium cable and copper cable are separate grades priced against different reference quotations. Mixing them means both fractions are paid at the lower of the two, and the sorting cost comes out of the price.
- How is the price for aluminium turnings determined?
- From the LME reference for the relevant alloy class, less deductions for moisture, coolant contamination, fines (very small chips that oxidise quickly) and processing. Clean, dry turnings from a known alloy fetch considerably more than a wet or oil-soaked swarf mix.
This article is informational and reflects our practice at the date of publication. Romanian environmental legislation changes frequently — for your company's specific situation, check the texts in force and consult the environmental protection agency or a specialist adviser.