Sinks, benches, pots, range hoods and old appliances are all scrap metal. This guide covers what to look for and how to sort it. Action Metal Recyclers has been buying and exporting scrap metal for over 50 years, and we can help you scrap your scrap metal kitchen items for cash!
Sinks and benchtops
A kitchen sink is usually stainless steel, and it is one of the better items to come out of a strip-out. Commercial style stainless benches, splashbacks, shelving and prep tables are worth even more because there are more of them.
Some older sinks are enamel over pressed steel. They still go in the scrap pile, just not in the stainless pile. If you are not sure which you have, a magnet will usually tell you. Most stainless sinks will not hold a magnet, or hold it only weakly.
Pots, pans and cookware
Old saucepans, frypans, stockpots, baking trays and roasting dishes are a mix of aluminium and stainless. Cast iron pans and camp ovens are heavy steel and worth keeping too.
Take the plastic and timber handles off where they come away easily. Non-stick coating is fine, you do not need to strip that.
Appliances
Old fridges, freezers, dishwashers, ovens, cooktops and range hoods are all worth bringing in rather than paying to dump. A range hood is mostly stainless or aluminium with a small motor inside, and an oven is largely steel.
Smaller benchtop gear counts as well: kettles, toasters, microwaves, coffee machines, mixers, air fryers and slow cookers. Our post on recycling white goods covers the bigger appliances in more detail.
The bits people miss
Behind the cupboards and under the sink there is usually copper pipe and brass tapware, which are the highest value metals in the room. Mixer taps, spindles, stop valves and the flexible braided hoses all have brass in them.
Then there is the hardware: cupboard handles, hinges, drawer runners, cutlery, knife blocks, wire shelving, sink strainers, dish racks and the steel frame inside a kitchen island. None of it is worth much on its own, but a kitchen full of it adds up.
Sorting it before you come in
Keep three piles if you can: stainless, aluminium, and general steel. Put the copper and brass in a bucket of their own, because that is where the value sits and mixing it into the steel pile costs you.
You don’t need to strip everything back. Clean and sorted grades are better than mixed, and our scrap metal buyers can help work out what is what when you arrive.
Getting your scrap metal to us
If you are doing a full renovation, or clearing out a cafe or commercial kitchen, a scrap metal bin on site saves the back and forth, and our mobile Weigh and Pay service will weigh and pay your scrap metal on site.
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 kitchen metal into your nearest yard, or contact the team if you would like a hand sorting it first.