Aluminum Cans

Most beverage cans and some food cans are made of aluminum.  If a magnet sticks to them, they are steel cans and worth very little. Aluminum beverage cans are one of the highest-priced grades of aluminum scrap, but the food cans are a different alloy and have to be sold separately at a lower price.

Pop can tabs are the same grade as the rest of the aluminum can, so don’t pull them off expecting to get more money.  Instead they are cheaper when loose, and have to be boxed and sold to a different smelter for less money.  The companies that melt beverage cans require the material to be baled and do not accept loose items in boxes.

To get full value for beverage cans, make sure they are empty.  Even a little fluid in the bottom can weigh almost as much as the can.  When we detect fluid, we deduct enough weight to make sure we won’t come up short after the cans are baled and the liquid runs out.

Also take care to keep cans separate from your trash at home so everyone in the family knows which is which.  If we get a bag with trash in it, we will make a significant weight deduction or reject it and send it back home with you to be sorted out.

When calling us for prices, keep in mind that large loads pay a higher price.