Unless you're bringing in a truckload of scrap with the type of metal
certified, you'll get the lower prices. Only specific alloys qualify
for the higher prices and you're probably not equipped to do the assay
to determine the actual content of your metal. 50 cents a pound is a
decent price for scrap aluminum.

Rather than cheating you, the local recycler is doing you a favor
buying your tiny quantities of mixed metals. Sorting that stuff is
hardly worth their time.

Chris F. wrote:
Every spring, as I do my cleaning, I take the time to strip the metal from
all the old appliances I discard. I remove the aluminum parts and strip
anything that may be attached to them. The recycler paid me about $.50/lb
for the aluminum last time, but looking around on the net I see there are
many different grades of recyclable aluminum. In particular, one type called
Cast Aluminum was listed for over $2 /lb! I'm wondering if VCR heads and
cylinders qualify as cast aluminum. How about heat sinks from old TV's? And
finally, what about the pieces of brass that the VCR rotary heads screw
into, what would these be classified as?
Thanks for any advice. I'd like to be sure I'm not getting cheated the
next time I take a load of stuff to the recycler......