dumpster?

So I hope this is the right section. I'm looking to ask you guys if any of you ever looked into a dumpster for your light iron? I'm now working out of a warehouse and I ask the scrap yard about it.
My question is have any of you tried this method. I would only put light iron. They say I have sizes from 30 yards to 50. I believe they said I can sit on it for a month and they will pick it up and charge $50 a dumpster. Please reply with idea and comments on this.

I think this would only add cost to the light iron scrap (shred?). With scrap metal prices already depressed, with light steel selling at prices almost as low as they can get! Factor in your time, labor and then add a additional cost of $50 per month, ask yourself, WOULD IT BE WORTH IT? What do you think? (2 + 2 = 4) Just asking you to do the math Savannahsworld, you would be working to hard for pennies!

Originally Posted by Savannahsworld

So I hope this is the right section. I'm looking to ask you guys if any of you ever looked into a dumpster for your light iron? I'm now working out of a warehouse and I ask the scrap yard about it.
My question is have any of you tried this method. I would only put light iron. They say I have sizes from 30 yards to 50. I believe they said I can sit on it for a month and they will pick it up and charge $50 a dumpster. Please reply with idea and comments on this.

How far away is the yard and what is your time worth? The answers to these should help you decide.

Well the yard is around the corner. But I only have a small work place here, my thinking is, our light iron is not the gravy. So if I till things apart and sort the other metals. The iron would collect and I wouldn't have to take time to travel it and unload. In my mind I'd be throwing it in a dumpster and a small check u would get every months. Then I could focus on the other metals instead.

You can't be getting. 08# now? A ton what $75 ton so I'd get what maybe $25 bucks? Maybe see if I could get a 40 and might be worth it. I drive a s10 and I don't have a trailer. So ATM what o do is when my address is over flowing I take a load in. A dumpster would allow me to not take those iron loads in and focus on taking more apart.
Last time I spoke to someone about dumpster it was $100, they must of dropped price to $50. So if I can get in a routine hopefully when scrap goes back up I can stay at $50.

I'm not one of there biggest customer by any means, but I am one of there oldest. I just don't have allot of room at warehouse yet. And I'm not ready to expand my rent.

I have always wanted to do this. In a 30 yard dumpster i figure you can fit 7 tons in. A dumpster saves on a mess and tying up space in a warehouse or on a trailer. As far the $50 pick up fee I find this fair as for me the yards close but to get there and back is 4 bucks. Thats ten trips give or take. To bring in 7 tons on just a pickup bed would be 14 trips give or take. If you figure all the trips to bring in 7 tons plus time and wear and tare and space saven this is an extremely viable option given you can fill it every month. Personally I could fill it every month so in my case i would 100% do it.

if you have to space to set it utilize it but all of it with good tear downs as for price $50 aint bad. around here its usually free but I would start it and get a good business relationship going to get it for better later on plus it can still hold a decent amount that's not being tossed away for free and even if its not great prices near you for you to make money offer others the chance to get in with you to fill it often.
its all about your research and for me in this lower market teamwork because with out it I would not be getting $0.06-0.08lb and that's with overhead mostly covered except random trash costs for things like seat cusions on chair for example

Sounds like it would be a space and time saver, but you have to make sure the math works for you. I used to think of shred as a burden, like you said, its not the gravy. But I then started doing the math, if I took the shred away what is my net profit now. I was kinda of surprised at what shred adds to the bottom line. So if the added cost and space still adds to your bottom line, and your happy with that then by all means do it. But it never hurts to try and get the $50 fee waived. Or atleast reduced. I have a very small space as well. What I do is use Gaylord boxes to store my shred until I was ready to take it in. I could stack them if I need to and it stored my shred nice and neat if it was broken down and place well in the boxes.

I'll play Devil's Advocate. Throwing out scrap prices, it'll cost you $50 per month, correct? The yard's less than a mile or two away, and you have a truck. I wouldn't be paying rent. Here's what I'd do:

Get one of these:


They cost $200 out here, and less than $25 per year to license. So, after 4 1/2 months, it's paid for itself. After that, it's extra profit.

Go with a 3/4 ton axle, and you can load a ton (Literally). A half-ton version will still haul 1500#, and can be towed by your S-10. I'd buy a cheap one, and build some cheap side racks for it.

Plus, you can sell this someday if you need to. You can't sell a rented dumpster.

well it's been almost a year, I found a yard that droped and picked up for free..... I went and all the first years to match, they said no, so that lost my business. which is good cause last year prices started to drop and my dumpster was only worth $60 full. ( i was being in alot if fridges and other appliances). dumpster was awesome, I back up to it with a full truck, dump what I never wanted to see again and drive around and dismantle the rest.
I'm looking to move my whole operation. not sure what I'm going to do without dumpster.
I seen my post and I wanted to update.

This is interesting. Thanks for updating us.

Where we are, we have a dumpster. It is a 40yard dumpster and we get in the neighborhood of 7 to 8 ton of computer cases in it. The dumpster has been a life saver for us. We fill it every month, if not more often and our steel price is so good that I'm actually buying sheet iron at better than the local scrap yard. We are actually considering 2 dumpsters, one for clean sheet and one for sheet iron. Constant, consistent, and quality material goes a long way.

Savannahsworld - Glad to see that your back with us. Your last post is a little confusing for me, so if you could please help me understand. Are you saying the scrap yard would provide a dumpster, drop off and pick up for free, but did not pay you for steel or maybe paid you at a reduced rate? If either is the case, then their dumpster was not free (seldom if ever is anything free).

they do it for free, I filled.
I call tell them it full, they replace with empty next day, two days later I go to the yard and get cash. it was awesome.

I have two trailers I made out of old rv frames ones a deck over other has a ramp and 6ft walls. I use these for collecting / pic ups but hate having a full trailer when I need to haul snowmobiles or what ever. I'm looking at a 14' dump trailer with high walls just for mix metal. I see a bin truck in my future.