Aluminium is light, it does not rust, and most people underestimate how much of it they own. It is also worth well more per kilogram than steel, so it is one of the metals most worth pulling out of a general clean-up pile. This guide is for Queensland homeowners, renovators and tradies. Action Metal Recyclers has been buying and exporting scrap metal for over 50 years. Let’s take a look at how you can scrap your aluminium for cash with us!
How to recognise scrap aluminium
Two quick checks. A magnet will not stick to it, and it feels far lighter than steel for the same size. The colour is a dull silver grey, though plenty of aluminium comes painted, anodised or powder coated. Do not write a piece off because it is white, black or bronze on the outside.
Aluminium around the house
Window and sliding door frames are the biggest single source in most Queensland homes, especially in older houses and units. Security screens and screen doors are next, along with flyscreen frames, louvre frames and awnings.
Inside, look at pots and pans, foil trays, drink cans, venetian blinds, curtain rails, and the frames on old outdoor furniture. Whitegoods and air conditioners usually have aluminium in them too, though those are best brought in whole. Our post on recycling white goods covers that side of it.
Aluminium in the shed and yard
Ladders, trestles and scaffold planks are common and worth a decent amount for their weight. So are aluminium tool boxes, ute canopies, garden furniture, pool fencing, roller shutters, boat parts, outboard components, tinnie offcuts and irrigation pipe.
Alloy wheels and rims are their own category and worth keeping separate from the rest. Old radiators off a car or an air conditioner are another one, since they combine aluminium with copper.
Aluminium on the job
Fitouts, demolitions and reno strip-outs generate a lot of it: window and shopfront frames, ceiling grid, ducting, cladding, extrusion offcuts, cable tray and signage. Builders and shopfitters who separate aluminium from the general steel skip usually find it is worth the small extra effort.
Clean aluminium versus dirty aluminium
Aluminium is graded on how much other material is attached. A window frame with the glass, rubber seals and steel screws still in it is not the same as a clean stripped extrusion.
You don’t have to strip everything. Just know that the cleaner it is, the better it grades. Pulling the glass out of frames, removing steel hinges and separating painted from unpainted extrusion all help. Keep aluminium away from your steel pile either way, and see our aluminium page for what we take.
Scrapping aluminium with us
Aluminium is bulky for its weight, so a small load can fill a trailer without weighing much. If you are stripping a house or a site, a scrap metal bin makes more sense than repeat trips, and our mobile Weigh and Pay service will weigh and pay on site.
For general household amounts, just bring it in to one of our scrap metal recycling sites. Our guide on how to recycle aluminium covers the basics.
Drop it into a yard
Our yards are open Monday to Friday 7:00am to 4:30pm and Saturday 7:00am to 11:30am, with sites from Burleigh Heads to Townsville. Bring your aluminium in, or contact the team if you want a hand sorting it first.