Why doesn't everyone scrap magnetic items

I always just throw the screws in the box and figure im goin anyway just wondering thoughts on this topic

I scrap in a car. I do scrap metal, but Im limited to the amount I can carry. Most Ive had in my car was a half ton, and it acted all squirlley on the road....

I didn't think of that

If you are breaking down stuff at you place, save your steel from the breakdown. If you do not have room for steel don't pick up extra steel! As stated you are going to the yard anyway!. I would get a microwave and break it down then put the small stuff in it with your steel cans, bottle caps and stuff from your house! Not much space taken up! And when you go to the yard drop it off!

Some just don't want to deal with it. (Meaning, from where I'm sitting, they're in it for the easy, non-ferrous, money.)

Example--Two years ago this month, I was digging for a plumber, inside an old industrial building that was being remodeled into a senior citizen daycare facility. The general contractor had a couple of guys who'd grab all the wire and copper plumbing they could, but they didn't want the conduit, or the panel boxes (once they'd stripped them of copper), or the 6" steel channels that made up the doorways through the concrete block walls. The plumber would save any copper he got, (actually was a little POed that the GC's guys had beat him to so much of the old plumbing), but he didn't care if I took the cast iron pipe we dug up from under the floor. Nobody cared if I grabbed all the scrap tin either. And these guys all had trucks, and backyards at home...

Originally Posted by Ditchdigger

Some just don't want to deal with it. (Meaning, from where I'm sitting, they're in it for the easy, non-ferrous, money.)

Example--Two years ago this month, I was digging for a plumber, inside an old industrial building that was being remodeled into a senior citizen daycare facility. The general contractor had a couple of guys who'd grab all the wire and copper plumbing they could, but they didn't want the conduit, or the panel boxes (once they'd stripped them of copper), or the 6" steel channels that made up the doorways through the concrete block walls. The plumber would save any copper he got, (actually was a little POed that the GC's guys had beat him to so much of the old plumbing), but he didn't care if I took the cast iron pipe we dug up from under the floor. Nobody cared if I grabbed all the scrap tin either. And these guys all had trucks, and backyards at home...

Funny thing is, the easy money is to take the steel items in as is no breakdown needed! But you are correct they want the good stuff copper, brass, alum

Most of the steel I get is a byproduct of the good stuff that I am after so I save it up and sell it to the scrap yard.

steel as a by product of e-waste is good cashflow, things take a while to build up if you want good chunks of cash.
like cutting little gold plugs off wire, by the time you fill a coffee tin of gold pins, you'd of been to the scrap yard with steel many times.

I put thick steel things aside as steel over 5mm thick is consider good steel, not shred, can't think of the term.
but yeah, like in printers, that chrome bar the cartridge slides across is usually over 5mm thick so they go in my steel chest.

Originally Posted by scrapperben

steel over 5mm thick is consider good steel, not shred, can't think of the term.
but yeah, like in printers, that chrome bar the cartridge slides across is usually over 5mm thick so they go in my steel chest.

They call it "short iron" here, as long as it's over 1/8"(1/4" in some places) and less than 3' in length(just under 1 meter)

Wish more people didnt scrap magnetic items around here! LOL

I remember a great hint from another Kiwi about screws. He saves up the stainless steel ones & then sells them to people who work/own/fix boats.

Boats are near salt water & they have to use stainless steel screws so they don't rust. Stainless steel screws are expensive & harder to find.

He sold them in bags for a few $$ each.

His hint was probably one of the most 'out of the box' & valued hints I have got here. Theres absolutely no way I could have thought of that myself.

Originally Posted by auminer

I scrap every atom of metal I come across, but the following figures might highlight why some don't mess with steel:

My OCD commands that I keep every one of my scrap tickets, and enter the details into a spreadsheet.

Since I started scrapping, clean copper has accounted for merely 2.2% of the total weight of scrap I took to the yard, but it accounts for 26.9% of my scrap $$$.

Steel (in all its forms, including waterheaters, etc) has accounted for 73.0% of the weight, and 23.8% of the $$$.

So all the steel I ever scrapped totals out to 33 times the weight of all the copper I've ever scrapped, for ~88.5% as much money.

Low grade boards are the only other item category with a higher pct of total weight (4.7) than pct of total revenue (4.1).

Same here last 3 years steel weight % of total was 82%, 86% and 85%. Cash % of total was 40%, 54% and 45% It all adds up!

screws are a nice money maker all of the normal ones from a little of everything I sell for $1lb and screws from towers, laptops, and drives range from $4-7lb and hard drive screws I do at $10lb $7.50 if larger orders and even with ebay fees its a crap load more than steel prices and I do it as I go so I do not have to sort things later. laptops are the only thing I sort really well but its easy with the plastic bins I got for free curb shopping there are 50 trays in the one I have and when one fills up I weigh it and put it in a baggy until theres a pound. which adds up faster on older models like dells.

I prefer to scrap everything, but space is a definite disadvantage. My 1 ton van also houses, well, my house. I hide my tin very well then take it in when I have a good load. With AL prices so low here, I wont take a load in until I have roughly 75-100 lbs to cover gas. All the little stuff i will keep in bags and coffee cans and put it under the bed.