One of the great things about copper is that it is incredibly valuable as a material and can be recycled. It is incredibly common in piping, wires, and motors, which makes it easy to find around town. Not only can it be recycled many times without degrading, but it won't react to water by rusting. Here are some things to know before you decide to scrap copper.

What To Know About Cleaning Copper

When you hear about cleaning copper, it doesn't mean physically washing the copper and scrubbing away the dirt that may be on it. Cleaning copper refers to removing any other materials attached to the copper that degrades its value. For example, bare copper wire that has been removed from its protective sheathing is going to be worth more than copper wire that is still in the sheathing. 

The process of cleaning copper depends on how much of it you have, if you have the right tools for the job, and how much it is worth. For example, if you have a lot of copper wire and no way of removing the sheathing easily, then it may not be worth it to clean the wire. If you have an old appliance and you can easily remove the copper from it, then it will be worth it to take the time to get clean copper.

What To Know About Grading And Sorting

Your local scrap yard is going to want you to sort your copper by the different grades because there are different prices offered for different types of copper. Bare bright copper wire and pipes are going to be worth the most, which means that the copper is bright, shiny, and free of all other materials. Think of thick copper wires that have been removed from their sheeting, and copper plumbing pipes that have recently been removed from a home.

#1 copper is considered the next step down form bare bright copper, with the main difference being that the copper isn't bright. #2 copper will be similar to the previous grade, but it has other materials still attached to it. This is that copper wire that is still in the sheathing, or copper pipe that still has paint or solder on the material.

Reach out to your local scrap yard for more information about copper recycling, which includes the current prices of what the scrap yard offers for the various grades of copper.