What Household Items Do Scraps Take?
If you are looking to make some extra cash, try recycling scrap items that can be found around your house. We have a guide of everyday things that can be found throughout your house and brought to your local scrap yard. Most scrap yards take these items we are referring to, but some could classify them differently or not take them at all. The best option to be sure of is to find them on the iScrap App and contact them.
12 Common Household Items That Scrap Yards Take
- Stainless Steel Sink – A standard item in kitchens or bathrooms, stainless steel sinks can be removed and brought to your local scrap yard. They must be kept separate from other metals so they are not devalued when weighing them. Sometimes, plastic pieces or steel (check with a magnet) can make the sink a “dirty” material and, therefore, will be devalued.
- Brass Faucets – Something that is commonly found with your sink is a brass faucet that can be brought to your local scrap yard. The brass faucets may have plastic pieces and should be removed if they can to get the most money for them.
- Copper Pipe or Tubing – The copper pipe or tubing is also found with your sinks and faucets. Most water pipes inside homes are made from copper tubing and sometimes have brass fixtures. If you are renovating your kitchen or bathroom, cutting and removing the copper tubing is a good idea, as it’s one of the higher-priced scrap metals to recycle with your scrap yard.
- Aluminum Pots & Pans – When you are searching through some of your kitchen cabinets for scrap, you may find that you have some old and unusable pots and pans. That’s another perfect item you can collect for your pile for the scrap yard. Pots and pans will usually be classified as dirty aluminum when bringing it in for scrap.
- Ceiling Fan Motors – When you have a broken ceiling fan, you can remove the wood or plastic blades of the fan and scrap the motor with your scrap yard. The ceiling fan motor is usually thrown in with the electric motor pile at your scrap yard. With a copper coil inside that electric motor, you could see a good chunk of change and weight for that item. Also, check the fan blades too. With the wood removed, you may have Cast Aluminum underneath.
- Copper Yokes from TVs – Not commonly found in newer TVs, these copper yokes can usually be located inside the back of tube TV. But more info on that later!
- Power Outlets – Used generally for desks or TV stands, the power outlet strips can be recycled with your scrap yard as a “copper-bearing material.” They won’t be worth much money in your yard, but if you have a few, you can make some extra money. Also, be sure to cut off the wires from them to separate the wires for different scrap.
- Mini-Transformers – Usually found on the end of cell phones, cameras, and electronic chargers, these tiny black boxes can be worth some money with your local scrap yard. They have a small copper transformer inside that can be removed and scrapped. If you only have a few, removing the plastic is not worth it, but if you have a larger quantity, it may be worth your time to take them apart.
- Backup Batteries and Surge Protectors – Many home offices have these below the desk to plug all the electronics into. These backup batteries allow electronics to be shut down properly in case of an electric outage. They are beneficial if you work on the computer and the lights go out. They are relatively heavy due to the battery inside. That can be scrapped with your local scrap yard for a few dollars.
- Laptops – An everyday item that is scrapped in electronic scrap are laptops. Sometimes, scrap yards require those recycling laptops to remove the batteries, so check with your yard before bringing your in. Also, some scrap yards may not take electronics, so check with them before heading in.
- Desktop Towers – A common electronic item scrapped is the desktop computer towers. They generally weigh 10-20 pounds and can be worthwhile if you bring them to your scrap yard. Similar to the laptops, check with your scrap yard if they accept them before bringing them in. Also, if you feel like making extra money on them, you can take them apart for the inside components.
- Aluminum Lawn Chair – A familiar scene in most backyards, these are lightweight and made of aluminum. They can generally be scrapped at your local scrap yard. If you want to make extra money on them, we suggest removing the plastic handles or basketweaves to get the most money.
Do Scrap Yards Take TVs?
You may have noticed that we mentioned TVs and scrap being taken from them several times in this list. That being said, we never mentioned scrapping TVs. Unfortunately, the answer to this depends on your yard. TVs can have plenty of materials you can scrap (circuit boards, yokes, aluminum heatsinks, etc.). However, they also contain a lot of plastic and glass, which isn’t worth anything to a scrap yard. While the materials inside are valuable, if you have a TV that needs to be scrapped, contact your local yard beforehand to confirm if they take them.
If you have any questions about items you can scrap from your home, please email us with pictures of the item so we can help you determine if it’s worth the trip to your scrap yard.