Scrap Metal Prices Today
As of October 16, 2026, COMEX copper is $6.58 per pound and LME aluminum about $1.36 per pound. Scrap yards pay a share of those benchmarks: roughly $5.13 to $5.65 for bare bright copper, $2.70 to $3.29 for yellow brass, $0.49 to $0.60 for aluminum cans, and 4 to 13 cents for steel. The cards below show the grades people sell most, each metal has its own page with every grade, and the calculator turns a weighed load into a dollar range.
Exchange benchmarks behind today's scrap prices
Live, as of October 16, 2026
LME metals are quoted per metric tonne; divided by 2,204.62 for the per-pound figure.
Scrap prices by metal
Estimated yard prices for the grades people sell most. Each metal has its own page with every grade, identification tips, and prep advice.
- Bare bright copper wireShiny stripped wire, 16 gauge or thicker$5.13 to $5.65
- No.1 copperClean pipe, flashing, and solids; no solder$4.87 to $5.33
- No.2 copperSoldered pipe, bus bar, painted or oxidized$4.67 to $5.13
- THHN and high-grade wireSingle-conductor building wire, 75% to 85% copper$3.42 to $4.08
- Romex and house wireSheathed residential cable, 60% to 68% copper$2.76 to $3.29
- Low-grade insulated wireAppliance cords and harnesses, 40% to 50% copper$1.71 to $2.24
- Yellow brassFittings, valves, hardware; steel and plastic off$2.70 to $3.29
- Red brass and bronze85% or more copper: old valves, bearings, bells$3.09 to $4.08
- Brass shell casingsFired, clean brass casings$2.76 to $3.22
- Clean extrusions (6063)Window and door frames, nothing attached$0.95 to $1.16
- Beverage cans (UBC)Empty, dry cans; about 32 to a pound$0.49 to $0.60
- Cast aluminumGrills, engine parts, housings$0.48 to $0.59
- 304 stainless steelSinks and appliances; a magnet does not stick$0.33 to $0.42
- 316 stainless steelMarine and chemical grade, 10% nickel plus moly$0.70 to $0.77
- Soft leadFlashing, pipe, sinkers, sheet$0.45 to $0.56
- Car and truck batteriesWhole, upright, uncracked$0.21 to $0.28
- Lead wheel weightsMixed with steel clips and zinc weights$0.10 to $0.26
- Prepared steel / HMS No.1Plate and structural, cut to size$0.07 to $0.13
- Light iron and unprepared steelAppliances, sheet, and mixed steel$0.04 to $0.10
- Cast ironRadiators, tubs, engine blocks, rotors$0.06 to $0.10
- Electric motorsSmall motors, sold whole$0.20 to $0.40
- Alternators and startersWhole units$0.45 to $0.60
- Catalytic convertersPriced per piece by model and loading$20 to $800 each
Live benchmark times the share yards typically pay, per lb. Ranges cover the spread between yards; your local board sets the actual number. Estimates checked against posted yard boards on September 18, 2026.
Scrap value calculator
Add each material in your load, enter its weight, and the estimate updates with the live benchmarks. Enter a yard's quote to see where it lands in the range.
Estimated payout for this load
$51.29 to $56.55
Yards pay on their own scale after grading, and boards differ by region, so use the range to judge a quote.
The copper benchmark, and why it moves your whole load
Copper, brass, bronze, insulated wire, radiators, and motors are all priced off COMEX copper, so this one chart drives most of what a mixed load is worth. Boards reset each morning from the previous close.
How scrap yards set their prices
Every non-ferrous price on a yard board starts from an exchange. COMEX in New York sets copper in dollars per pound; the London Metal Exchange sets aluminum, nickel, zinc, and lead per metric tonne. The yard takes that number, subtracts what it costs to sort, process, and freight the material to a mill, subtracts the risk of holding metal while the price moves, and adds a margin. What is left is the board price.
That is why the discount isn't a fixed percentage. Clean, sorted copper needs almost no processing, so it keeps 78% to 86% of the benchmark. Aluminum cans lose coating, ink, and moisture in the furnace, so they keep 36% to 44%. Steel works differently. It does trade as futures on the LME and CME, but those contracts settle on Turkish import and US mill indices, and yards price consumer loads off what mills post per ton each month.
Two rules follow. Cleaner and better-sorted material earns a smaller discount, and bigger, more regular loads earn better terms. Location matters too: a yard a short haul from a mill or a port pays more than one that has to truck material across a state, which is why you'll see the same grade a few percent apart in neighboring towns.
How to tell what you have
A magnet, a file, and a close look sort almost everything. The magnet splits ferrous from non-ferrous; weight and color split the rest. Each metal's page goes deeper on grades and prep.
Copper
Reddish-orange, heavy, non-magnetic. Scratch it: copper underneath means copper, yellow means brass.
Grades, prices, and prepBrass and bronze
Yellow or reddish-brown, heavy, non-magnetic. Chrome-plated brass shows yellow at a fresh cut.
Grades, prices, and prepAluminum
Silver-gray, light for its size, non-magnetic, leaves a gray mark on paper.
Grades, prices, and prepStainless steel
Silver, heavier than aluminum, no rust. A magnet should not stick to the grades yards pay for.
Grades, prices, and prepLead
Dull gray, very heavy, soft enough to scratch with a fingernail.
Grades, prices, and prepSteel and iron
The magnet sticks. Cast iron is brittle and rusts orange; sheet steel bends.
Grades, prices, and prepHow to get the best price for your scrap
- 1Sort by metal and grade before you go. A mixed load gets paid at the lowest grade in it. Ten minutes with a magnet and a pair of snips moves copper out of the brass pile and steel out of the aluminum pile, and each pile then earns its own price.
- 2Cut off what isn't the metal. Steel fittings on copper pipe, screws in aluminum siding, plastic on faucets: each one drops the item a grade. A dirty faucet pays about a third of yellow brass; the same faucet with the steel and plastic removed pays full brass.
- 3Decide whether to strip wire. Stripped wire pays bare bright; jacketed wire pays on recovery. Run the numbers in the calculator. With a hand-crank stripper and a few hundred pounds it usually pays; with a utility knife and a garbage bag of cords it usually doesn't.
- 4Weigh at home and know the price before you arrive. A luggage scale and the board on this page tell you what the load should bring within a range. If a yard's offer is well under the low end, you have a number to negotiate from or a reason to try the next yard.
- 5Get two quotes on anything over a few hundred pounds. Boards differ by several percent between yards in the same town, more between regions. Yards near a mill or a port pay more because their freight costs less.
- 6Bring ID, and paperwork for anything that could be stolen. Most states require photo ID for any sale and proof of ownership for catalytic converters and utility-marked copper. Some hold copper payments for days or pay by check. Ask the yard first.
- 7Time copper sales off the chart. Non-ferrous boards follow the exchanges and usually reset each morning. A 5 percent move in COMEX copper is worth more on a copper load than any day-of-the-week pattern, and you'll see it coming on the chart above.
Where these estimates come from
Each non-ferrous estimate is the live exchange benchmark multiplied by a share band. COMEX copper is used as quoted, in dollars per pound. LME aluminum, nickel, lead, and zinc are quoted per metric tonne and divided by 2,204.62. The benchmarks refresh with the site's price feed; the share bands are fixed.
The share bands were set by dividing posted yard prices by the benchmark print of the same day, using these public boards:
- Rockaway Recycling (New Jersey), posted board of September 18, 2026
- Central Metal Recycling (Chicago), posted board, mid-September 2026
- MetalRecap national price survey, September 17, 2026
- ScrapMonster North American grade spreads, June 2026
Steel, iron, and motor rows carry flat cents-per-pound bands from the same boards, since yards price them off monthly mill buying programs and what a processor recovers from a whole unit. All figures are estimates for clean, sorted material; the range covers the spread between yards, and your local board is the quote.
Published by MetalCharts, a free precious metals resource providing real-time prices, interactive charts, educational guides, and portfolio management tools. All market data sourced from COMEX, LBMA, and LME.
Explore MetalCharts
Free tools and data for precious metals investors