In today's economy, it seems as if everything is increasing in price. Families everywhere are starting to look for various ways to bring in some extra money to help cover the rising costs. One thing that can be done by nearly anyone is to recycle copper scrap for cash. Copper is valuable, especially copper that is high quality and hasn't had a chance for oxidation to develop.
Finding copper is rather easy. Here are a few places to look and how to prepare your haul for the recycling facility so you can get the most from your copper scrap recyclingZ efforts.
Finding Copper Scrap In Your Home
Looking for copper scrap to salvage for recycling can be easily done when you know where to look. If you have any old or broken appliances sitting in your garage or basement, they likely have copper in them. Electronics such as old television sets and radios also have copper in them. So, go through your home and look for copper in items that you are no longer using and don't foresee using again due to the items being inoperable. This is also a good time to declutter your home.
Finding Copper Scrap Elsewhere
You may be able to find copper scrap or items that contain copper scrap by shopping at thrift stores and looking for unwanted large bulk items on trash day in your neighborhood and other surrounding neighborhoods. Alternatively, post advertisements on social media to inform people that you are willing to pick up their unwanted appliances and electronics for free. Then, take those items home to remove the copper from them.
Separating Out the Copper By Quality
After you've collected a fair amount of copper scrap from your recycling efforts, you'll want to separate them out into groupings based on their color and oxidation levels. The brightest and shiniest copper will stand out when you have all of the copper in a pile. Remove these pieces and place them in a bin. Next, look for the greenest copper with the most oxidation to remove and place in another bin.
Then, separate the remaining copper by comparing them with the brightest and greenest or dullest and placing them in other separate bins. The goal is to place the copper scrap in groups of similar quality so it's easier for the recycling facility to process your haul and provide you with the most optimal payout possible based on the quality of the copper you gathered to recycle.
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