Which is worth more - Aluminum Screen or Light Iron?

Looking through tickets from this year, I got reminded of this one:

I'd scrapped a bunch of aluminum windows and doors; separating them into Extrusion, Sheet, Die Cast and Screen. Everything else got stuffed inside stoves and refrigerators. As you may know, the screens are especially hard to deal with and labor-intensive. By the time I got them all done, I had quite a pile of screens. Hauled everything up, unloaded each type separately to be weighed and went in to get my ticket and get paid. Screens weren't listed on the published price list. She got the price from a book under the counter. When I got the ticket/check, it showed:

"Aluminum Screens 4LB 0.05/LB 0.20"

On the day I sold that load, LT Iron was $125/ton (0.0625/lb). I asked if there had been a mistake. There hadn't. From now on, the screens get stuffed in a stove or refrigerator.

I have never heard of such a thing... That seems like a cheap way for that yard to make cheat you from a fair price.

So your not suppose to leave the screens in window frames?

Separate anything that will lower the price. Even if is alum screen material, that would probably go in the sheet pile, alum frame itself in the extruded pile. Make sure you take all steel screws out to avoid being screwed.

ya i knew to take the screws out but i thought the screens were the same as frames
Is there a decent price change by takin the screens out?

BIG price difference. As I noted above - screen was 0.05/lb at the time, I don't know what it is now but probably about the same. As for Sheet and Extruded Aluminum, the last price I got was Oct 24th. Sheet Aluminum was 0.36/lb and Extruded was 0.60/lb. That price gap is pretty consistent.

ok thanks

I always get a kick out of yards pricing things like this. At my yard clean aluminum is $.50/lb regardless if it is cast, painted, extrusion or sheet. Ironey aluminum is $.09/lb. Mixed shred is $.125 a pound. Why wouldn't I just throw it on the pile for the 1/3 higher price?

The screens can go in with Furnace alum by me which is paying .20 a lb. The high this year was .40 a lb. Sheet iron is .09 a lb with the high of .11 a lb.

There would be a huge oxide layer on those screens, probably paint too.
I've seen them turn to dust in my hands before.


The Ali oxide needs cryolite to turn it back into Aluminum & thats expensive as well as toxic.
Might as well make Ali from Aluminia.

Some stuff I know it isn't worth it so I let it go free, like tinned copper.
For 100Lb's of copper I'd get less then a Lb of tinned.

I am bringing this old post back to life. First of all most scrap yards that I have delt with won't buy al. screening, some will buy the screen if it's still in the fraim but pay dirty sheet. The fraims are sheet al. not extruded. Ware do you get die cast out of doors and windows, die cast isn't even al. it's zink and pays about .10 per lb.

The connectors in the corners of doors/windows are sometimes diecast, or plastic. Have seen a few aluminum.