Copper scrap prices: grades, impurities and how to get more per kilo
By weight, copper is the most valuable metal that usually reaches a collection yard. That's exactly why the gap between one grade and the next shows up in money straight away. Here's how copper scrap is graded on receipt and what you can do before the handover to get the higher grade's price.
In short
- The price starts from the LME copper quote and drops the further the material is from pure copper.
- Bright copper pays best; oxidised, tinned or mixed copper falls into lower grades.
- Keep brass, cables and clean copper apart, and never burn insulation — it lowers the price and it's illegal.
Where the copper price comes from
The starting point is the copper price on the London Metal Exchange (LME), quoted in dollars per tonne and converted at the day's exchange rate. From it, each collector deducts the cost of processing and transport to the smelter and its own margin, and what's left depends on how close your material is to pure copper.
That's why the prices collection yards post change often, sometimes week to week. A good price today doesn't guarantee the same price next month, and comparing collectors only makes sense for the same grade, on the same day.
Copper grades: from bright to mixed
The best-paid grade is bright copper: clean wire or bar, without insulation, without tin, without heavy oxidation. Next comes clean but oxidised or burnt copper, then tinned, painted or soldered copper, and finally copper mixed with other metals — pipe with brass fittings, windings with iron laminations.
Brass and bronze are copper alloys, but they're paid separately and for less. A bag of bright copper with a few brass taps slipped in can be graded down as a whole, so it's worth keeping them apart.
Cables, radiators and motors
Insulated cables aren't paid as copper but by their yield: how much copper they contain relative to their total weight. A thick power cable has a high yield; a thin data or automotive cable a much lower one, and the price per kilo reflects exactly that difference.
Copper-aluminium radiators, electric motors and transformers also have their own prices, based on their estimated copper content. We process cables in our own granulation plant, so we can value them on the copper actually recovered rather than on a cautious estimate.
How to prepare copper to get more for it
Sort copper by grade at the source: bright, oxidised, tinned, brass, cables. Remove steel fittings, screws, bits of plastic and soil, which would otherwise be deducted at the scale or pull the whole lot into a lower grade.
Don't burn cables to strip the insulation. Burning waste is illegal and polluting, burnt copper pays less than bright copper, and the whole cable can be handed over for processing as it is. Weighing happens on receipt, in front of you, on a verified scale.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do I get less for cables than for copper?
- Because with cable you're also weighing the insulation, which isn't worth what copper is. The price is set by copper yield: thick power cables have a high yield, thin ones much lower.
- Is it worth stripping cables myself?
- For thick cables, mechanical stripping can pay off, because you end up with bright copper. For thin ones the effort rarely does — we process them in our granulation plant. Burning the insulation isn't an option.
- Do you buy copper from private individuals?
- Yes. We weigh on receipt, in front of you, and issue a weighbridge ticket for every handover. Individuals need to bring an identity document.
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.