When working on a roof you may see copper used as decorative pieces such as flashing or as a more practical piece like a gutter or a liter. These items can make a building look great but can also be a great item to scrap when they rip or break.
Roofing Copper Generally is Called:
All of these mean the same thing, but you can make more money by knowing what to look for while separating and sorting it. By having roofing copper that has tar, nails, screws, wood, or other attachments you will have it graded as a roofing copper, but if you are able to have it completely clean you may be able to upgrade it to a #2 or even a clean copper flashing.
Make sure that you ask your local scrap yard how they want it prepared and then you will be able to have it done correctly the first time. Don’t forget the copper flashing from the cut offs of new roofing copper can get classified as a clean roofing copper or clean copper flashing, and should be kept aside while scrapping.
Pricing Roofing Copper for Scrap
When scrap yards are classifying roofing copper, it really depends on the cleanliness of the copper and the attachments. If you have clean copper cut offs, that will be priced as a #1 flashing copper price. If there is tar, nail, and adhesive on the copper it will be classified as a #3 copper which can be anywhere from $0.10-0.30/lb. less than the #2 copper price. Be sure to check with your scrap yard what their prices are for copper. You may be able to shop around at other yards for the best price in the area. Remember you can always report your scrap prices on the iScrap App to keep a record of what you’ve received at your yard over the last few weeks or months.
