Your Ideas for Helping Someone to Boost their Scrapping Income

I haven't been doing this long and I do it part-time but I have cleared over $650 in a little over 2 months, minus gas, and I haven't been that smart about recycling metals besides scrap so I could have probably made much more if i'd been smarter about it, once I did aluminum cans from my in-laws house and once I got a big load of all aluminum chairs over 240lbs...

Find out when trash day is in neighborhoods near you and go by the day before and the day of. Twice last week I went to pickup CL scrap and I saw something (washer) on the curb at another house down the street (all the trash cans were out etc...) - I knocked on the residents door and offered to take away free and there it is... my truck was full and on the way to the yard on another street nearby I find more (fridge) but can't load it - not listed on CL but had a "free" sign on it, so I come back and get it after I take my first load to scrap. Then after it's tied down, I check my phone and see something listed less than 10 miles away from where I just picked that was listed less than 20 minutes ago - so I head that way and load it and boom, another 540lb load less than an hour.

Look for scrap on CL near you, and if it's farther away and one item isn't worth it, if there is more than one item in that same general area - and you can get there quickly - get both and keep looking in that area etc... that's what seems to work for me but again, I am a novice. I just now have figured out how to save and cash in electric motors and am better now at cashing in and finding copper.

Some days I don't find much but I don't just drive around either. It can get frustrating but, you'll find a rhythm. Keep in mind I am a novice but it's whats working for me for now part time.

I forgot to add, quite a few of my neighbors know I collect unwanted appliances cause they see me - by luck someone on the next street over was giving away a bunch fo appliances form a tenant that left all their stuff and wouldn't get it (found on CL) - 1060 lb + another 360 lb a day later long story short if he knows of anyone or has any un-wanted appliances, he has my number, my next door neighbor and a few of my neighbors see me taking home washers etc.. and have inquired and they will be giving me their un-wanted stoves, refrigerators etc... and friends of neighbors as well. So - talk to people?


I'm also looking forward to seeing what other people have to say cause i'm green and am for certain not doing something right and could be doing something different as well.

Hate to say it, but $1,000 over a year is nothing. Pick something to specialize in and then find out how to get it.

Where you live can also play a role. For instance I am in a can and bottle deposit state so scrapping aluminum cans won't work here.

There is a ton of information on here to get the wheels turning. Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money too, so keep that in mind. It all will depend on your strategy. Free stuff is great but relying on the free section of craigslist alone is not going to earn you much.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

I am guessing that when the year is done my scrapping income will be somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. That is gross income, minus of course the cost of gas and something for my time. I do at least some scrapping perhaps five days a week. I was reading one of these threads where someone talked about making $100k a year scrapping. Perhaps that was a dealer and I have no plans on owning a scrap yard. I just want to keep it less formal and work my own hours.

All that said, what should I be doing to try and earn, say, $25k to $50k a year from scrapping? If that is way too much, then what about earning, say, $10k to $20k a year?

General comments like "work smart not hard" are not what I am looking for. I'd like specifics. For instance:

"Don't waste time stripping small wire."
"Don't waste time on ballasts."
Etc.

What should I be doing?

Learn to recognise an opportunity, expand your options,

Long ago on this forum I did a thread where I had purchased an old RV trailer then turned the frame and axles into a car trailer in no time added an electric winch, made enough money with that trailer to purchase a crane truck big enough that I could piggy back two junker pick ups or a pair of cars.

One day I had acquired a old septic tank truck, cut the top of the tank off letting the pieces fall into the tank then filled the tank with scrap metal, made a tow bar to haul the truck over to Jacks behind the crane truck.

Later this week I'm picking up another RV trailer this one is single axle and will have a different purpose, I need a trailer to haul my Allis 720 to a few of the antique tractor show an tells.

RV trailers are notorious for dry rot, they leak, the owners get tired of looking at their bad investment and gladly give them away so that they do not have to dismantle and cart the refuse way then having to pay a tipping fee. And the RV lots that sell trailers won't take them on trade ins.

You see plenty of used RV trailers for sale privately and the key words your find in almost every ad - roof replaced or repaired.

You asked for an opinion, here's mine if your only bringing in a $1000.00 a year what are you doing in your spare time. When Pat and I were in BC we could make $300.00 over the weekend just picking refundable containers and we did this on top of running a scrap yard.

Soon after I had purchased the crane truck here in Manitoba I soon had all the local scrap picked up, sold the truck and been kinds coasting between MB and BC, sail boat, Honda 1100 and a few wine and cheese tours. Still paying off the credit card.

Ok no scrap cars locally so a game change what do I have locally. Ahh we have plenty of Black Spruce and a gypo logging outfit that buys standing timber that they cut and truck back to their mill. They leave the limbs in the woods, so these are easily harvested.

Also the mill produces sawdust, now your probably asking yourself what in the tarnation is he going to do with limbs and sawdust. Like I mentioned earlier expand on your options.

Hint, 1 litre = 1000 ml, divide by 5 = 200 times by $17.00 your litre of oil is worth $3,400.00 and you maybe used $30.00 worth of propane. There are other ways to market your oils, cosmetic and pharmaceutical company's purchase it by the drum.













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Separate your steel to get a better price. It is not worth it to break down steel to get a better price. But if you have some room just make separate piles of the steel. By me we have sheet iron, clean sheet iron, unprepared and prepared. When you have enough take in a load and add non ferrous to make the trip to the yard a better pay out. Also its ok to sell stuff as dirty, same idea don't waste time cutting up some aluminum items in order to get a clean price (pool lounge chairs for example) sell as is and be done.

Originally Posted by Proton

Pre-owned used transmission parts especially the older stuff that has become scarce due to most meeting their fate at the shredder or mobile crusher.

Aright you have this older Dodge Ram on your trailer and don't know the year, use the vin decoder or the vinny app on your smart phone. For instance the vin I entered for the onlne decoder returned that I have a 1995 Dodge Ram.

Next a quick trip over to the what transmission do I have site, here I find out that the 95 Ram uses the RH automatic transmission. Interesting in that the 4x4 overdrive extension housing with out internals is selling on ebay for $295.00. Internals probably net me another $100.00 and I still have the main case to strip put.

For $30.00 worth of parts you can rebuild a Dodge overdrive the one below sold for $498.00

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Jeep-4x4-Overdrive-Housing-Only-1988-1995-A518-A500-42RH-46RH-47RH/182372464014?hash=item2a763ef58e:g:Z5IAAOSwo4pYP1k k


For $30.00 worth of parts you can rebuild a Dodge overdrive the one below sold for $498.00

Kinda fits yer user Nic, recyclersteve

Man I just hauled in a load of Transmissions/transfer cases I found in a dumpster yesterday. I get home and see an ad on CL from a guy who buys transmissions for 25-50 a piece....Oh well. Now his number is in my phone for next time i find a roll off full of transmissions! lol

I went back today for all the axle housings and the dumpster was gone

Originally Posted by 520

Man I just hauled in a load of Transmissions/transfer cases I found in a dumpster yesterday. I get home and see an ad on CL from a guy who buys transmissions for 25-50 a piece....Oh well. Now his number is in my phone for next time i find a roll off full of transmissions! lol

I went back today for all the axle housings and the dumpster was gone

Back in the 1970's just when Japanese vehicles were becoming popular had a guy from an automotive rebuild shop tell me that he would give $100.00 for aluminium cylinder heads. I saved every head I came accross for a month and yes this required removing them form the engines.

When I showed up at the shop he was very selective in his choices and picked two from the lot, I took a sledge hammer to them and bid my farewell never did business with the guy again.

Your Craigslist guy offering to purchase transmissions, big difference between cases and complete then you'll also learn that he is going to be very selective in his choices when and of you do show up with a load of complete transmissions.

Although you could have turned that truck load of aluminium trans cases into some serious money but it requires that you have to actually do some work, I operated a home foundry for a few years making fishing weigh molds.

When all said and done I was netting $17.00 / $20.00 a pound for my scrap aluminium.

And yes I do remember that I had committed to doing a thread on the home foundry but figured anyone really interested could find resources on the topic from one of the many forums already out there dedicated to the art.


Average full size car aluminium rim weighs 35 pounds, this scuba mold uses a pound of aluminium the scuba mold sells on average $17.00 so each rim processed in your home foundry will net you in the neighbourhood of $595.00





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Set a goal of how much u wanna make....$100 per day is my goal at the minimum....that equals out to roughly 36,000 per year....in this area is above average....adjust figures for your area cost of living etc

The knowledge you seek is not the answer to your question. You are asking for scrapping advice and really need business insight. Tips and tricks will not get you to the level you desire, but a business plan focused on investing in yourself (knowledge) and tools could. Hippogear is absolutely correct. $ 1,000 a year would not fill Sir’s cooler enough for his scrapping endeavors. At the same time that is $ 1,000 more than you would have had.

First old threads contain many strategies for people in your situation. Take the time to do some research using the advance search feature. A stripping wire search produced 140 + threads. Second invest your profits back into tools and equipment. You might start by investing in hand tools and move up to a trailer. Continuing with the same strategy you could work your way up to a truck, larger trailer, and keep growing. Many on this forum started out earning $ 1.00 an hour and have grown to supporting their families and lifestyle scrapping. Many more were not persistent and did not invest in themselves or equipment and never found the success they hoped.

Reading the old threads will highlight how many members started with nothing and how they built their business over time. This is the information you seek, if you are serious about scrapping.

Speaking of older threads.... There was a quote that stuck with me threw the years. Many of the long time members on this forum might remember. It was from Olddude or ecosafe, as he will be known now. He said... "Anyone that thinks scrapping is easy money aint doin it right" Boy was he right.

Like everone has said, you need to find a niche and thrive to live it. In the basic sense, you are running your own business and you need to discipline yourself for that. If you keep a mindset other than that, you will always work harder than smarter.

I do E-waste and only from business clients, My marketing hat is almost always on and I'm one of those types of guy that can talk to anyone, but I'm not a salesman in anyway. Hundreds of companies know that I save them money but they all think that free is bad, I couldn't sell icecubes to Sirscapalot if his cooler was filed with warm beverages, not saying that it would be, just using an example. But I still plug away at hundreds of companies and talk to everyone that I run across. The word gets around. I have gotten about a dozen local and semi-local banks that love the free disposal. I also do not pay for anything. If the new client wants a payout, I politly ask them to take their own product in and most of the time, I get it free.

There is a learning curve and if you are not up to e-waste, start learning before you say no to it. Recycling in all forms is not easy in any way, it's quite "cut-throat" and you will have many bad days in it. You have to remember though, you are running a business first and then you are a scrapper. Only searching on CL for free stuff helps but really don't rely on that to always put food on the table. Market yourself as a solution to a problem.

Just remember, you are asking the world your question, not knowing where you are from, or live now, other than the US doesn't even start to get you any answers that you can use to help your situation.