One material that is common to find for scrapping purposes is copper. You can find copper in many places since it comes in so many different forms. Here is what you need to know about the sources for scrap copper.
Wire
A place where you'll frequently find copper is within wire, with there being various grades of copper within the wire. Copper wire is worth more when you are able to strip the casing from the wire and expose the base copper. This makes it worth more to the scrap yard because they do not have to do the work of stripping it themselves. When it comes to grades of copper wire, the highest grade is known as bare bright copper. This type of copper is easily recognizable because of its bright and shiny color.
Transformers
There is a lot of copper that can be found in cold transformers, but it takes a bit of work to get the copper coil out of the transformer so that it is in a form that can be scrapped. A larger transformer is going to have a larger copper coil, but even a small transformer can be worth the time to strip the copper from it.
Plumbing
Copper is frequently used in plumbing, and any time that old copper pipes are removed and replaced is going to result in waste. If you can find copper plumbing in the wild, know that the material will not require much prep work to get it in good condition to scrap. You may have some sections of copper plumbing that are corroded or have brass fittings that need to be removed, but it will be in good shape for the most part.
Appliances
You may be surprised at how many copper pieces are used within appliances. For example, an air conditioner or refrigerator likely has copper pipes within it that are used to contain the refrigerant. These pipes can be removed for scrap copper. It requires some effort and skill to take the appliance apart, but the copper that the appliance contains can make it worth your effort.
Electronic Devices
Outdated electronics may be of no use to the consumer, but there is likely a fair amount of copper within it. Old electronics tend to have more copper in them than newer electronics, since larger circuit boards and more wires can result in more scrap copper for you to keep. Look into your local copper recycling services for more information.
Share7 March 2022
Hi everyone, my name is Makana. Welcome to my site about recycling. I am excited to talk to you about all of the benefits of recycling. Throwing garbage in the trash bin only serves to fill up landfills, which has a negative impact on the planet. With recycling, you can rest assured that the majority of the waste goes toward making new packaging and products. The recycled materials live on and can even be processed another time. I will explore recycling rules and techniques in detail on this site. Please feel free to come back all of the time to learn new things.