In your manufacturing plant or other industrial business, you might go through a lot of scrap metal. If this is the case, you may want to consider selling it to a company that picks up scrap metal and pays for it by weight. This can help you recoup some of your losses, and it's a great way to ensure that the waste from your business is disposed of properly and recycled. Plus, there's a chance that the company that handles the normal garbage pickup from your factory will not handle scrap metal. To get as much money from the scrap metal pick-up as possible, remember these three helpful tips.

1. Clean It Up

First of all, you will want to clean up your scrap metal before disposing of it. Obviously, every piece does not have to be shiny and clean, but if your scrap metal is overly dirty, you might not get quite as much for it per pound as you would if it were clean. Consider spraying off scrap metal before disposing of it.

2. Keep It Separated

If all of the scrap metal pieces that you have within your industrial setting are made from the same metal or mix of metals, then you do not have anything to worry about. If you have scraps of different types of metal, however, you should take the time to separate the different types. The amount that you can get for different types of metal can differ by a surprising amount; for example, aluminum pays out for a whole lot less than copper. If you do not separate your metals, you will likely be paid a flat rate per pound for "mixed metal," which could leave you getting paid a lot less than what you are entitled to. Keeping different types of metal scraps separate from one another can help you get a higher payout.

3. Make It Easy to Load

Even though many scrap-metal recycling companies will come out and pick up your scrap metal for you, a pickup charge might be taken out of the amount that you will receive. Even though it can be worth it to pay this charge so that you don't have to worry about delivering the scrap metal yourself, you can often reduce this charge by ensuring that your metal is as easy to pick up as possible. Lessen the time that the pickup company has to spend—and therefore the amount that you can be charged for—by ensuring that your scrap metal is near an easy entrance for the truck so that it's simple for the company to retrieve.

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