selling aluminum cans to scrap metal shops

[PJJ]

Hi Mamas,
Anyone out there willing to share their story/experiences/tips?
TIA

[Denvergirlie]

First of all, prices have dropped like a rock, as have all receyling prices.

We bag them and take them to the scrap yard, they are fed into a hooper and a final weight is given and then take our ticket to the office and get our cash.

[CallMeMommy]

My DH is obsessive about collecting cans, he even goes ditch-diving during the nicer months. Collects them from work, all that fun stuff. He hangs onto them until the price of aluminum goes high, then turns them in. The price has to be right because the scrap yard he goes to is about 20 miles away (at one point the price was almost 90 cents a pound, now it's down to 46 cents a pound so he's hanging onto them for now). We've got about 90 pounds of cans in our basement now. 26 pop cans make a pound, and I think 32(?) beer cans make a pound. He recruits our 4-year-old to help him crush them when he gets a bunch stored up.

[baileyandmikey]

Ha... dh thought he could make a ton of money off two truck loads of scrap metal... sheet metal, appliances, stuff.... anyways, he came home with less than $7. so scrap prices have really really gone down.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by baileyandmikey

Ha... dh thought he could make a ton of money off two truck loads of scrap metal... sheet metal, appliances, stuff.... anyways, he came home with less than $7. so scrap prices have really really gone down.

In May scrap steel prices locally in Denver were up to $250 a ton, now... $35 a ton. Big change.

There was a story about just this yesterday on the home page of Yahoo about how the bottom is falling out of the recycling business. Ican't find that story, but here is another one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/bu...le.html?ref=us

[enkmom]

We don't crush our cans, and 3 black garbage bags full nets us about $8. Our town stopped collecting glass curbside, but will accept it at the recycling center near the library. When we have enough to make it worthwhile, we drop the glass off and have them weigh the cans. We then get a receipt and go into the office to get the money.

I always try to stick the can money in our Christmas account.