Birmingham scrap prices are among the most competitive in Britain because the city and the Black Country hold more independent merchants per mile than anywhere else, a legacy of the metal trades. Copper and brass are the local strength; payment is cashless by law with photo ID and proof of address.
Scrap metal prices per kg in Birmingham
| Scrap type | Price (GBP) | Change | Global reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-ferrous (per kg) | |||
| Copper Scrap | £9.10 / kg | ▲ +1.22% | $5.81 / lb |
| Aluminum Scrap | £1.36 / kg | ▲ +1.16% | $0.87 / lb |
| Brass Scrap | £5.54 / kg | ▲ +1.14% | $3.54 / lb |
| Stainless Steel Scrap | £0.89 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.57 / lb |
| Lead Scrap | £0.92 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.59 / lb |
| Zinc Scrap | £1.41 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.90 / lb |
| Battery Scrap | £0.36 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.23 / lb |
| Radiator Scrap | £5.23 / kg | ▲ +1.21% | $3.34 / lb |
| Wire Scrap | £4.40 / kg | ▲ +1.44% | $2.81 / lb |
| Cable Scrap | £2.93 / kg | ▲ +1.08% | $1.87 / lb |
| Electronic Scrap | £1.25 / kg | ▲ +1.27% | $0.80 / lb |
| Ferrous and bulk (per tonne) | |||
| Steel Scrap | £235 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $300 / ton |
| Iron Scrap | £207 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $264 / ton |
| Car Scrap | £282 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $360 / ton |
| Cast Iron | £225 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $288 / ton |
Indicative dealer prices for clean, sorted scrap in the United Kingdom, shown here for Birmingham. Individual yards quote around this level by grade, volume and condition; the derivation from exchange benchmarks and the exchange rate (1 USD = 0.74 GBP) is described in the methodology section below.
Birmingham scrap price chart (GBP)
Daily open, high, low and close for the most traded scrap metals in GBP, the same series Birmingham yards price against. Scroll to zoom and drag to move along the timeline.
Price history could not be loaded.
- Current Price
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The scrap market in Birmingham
Birmingham was built on metalworking, and the scrap trade never left. Merchants line Aston, Nechells and Tyseley inside the city, and the Black Country towns of Smethwick, Wednesbury and Walsall carry on the trade a few miles west, giving sellers more competing buyers than any other UK market.
Brass is the local speciality, a leftover of the city's fittings and casting industries, and merchants here grade copper and brass more finely than most. Ferrous moves to Midlands processors and on to export or the remaining UK mills, priced per tonne off the national export benchmark.
- Region
- West Midlands, England
- Quoted in
- GBP per kg (non-ferrous), per tonne (ferrous)
- Yards cluster in
- Aston, Nechells, Tyseley, Smethwick, Wednesbury
- Demand from
- Midlands processors, export via the ports
Where the scrap yards are in Birmingham
- Aston and Nechells: the dense inner-city merchant belt.
- Tyseley and Small Heath: the south-east trade corridor.
- Smethwick and West Bromwich: Black Country merchants minutes from the city.
- Wednesbury and Walsall: heavy scrap and processor-scale buyers.
What pays well in Birmingham
- Brass in all its forms, graded finely by yellow, red and mixed.
- Dry bright and number 1 copper from the trades.
- Clean aluminium extrusion and cast from workshops.
Selling scrap metal in Birmingham: rules, ID and payment
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 applies: no cash, photo ID and proof of address, payment by transfer or cheque, and council-licensed dealers only. Birmingham's Clean Air Zone charges older vans entering the city centre, so route around it or price it into the trip.
Before any sale, check the live board above, sort by grade and get quotes from two or three buyers; the best scrap price guide covers the routine and the calculator turns a weight into a figure at today's price. To judge whether a local quote is competitive, our note on telling a well-paying yard from a headline rate sets out the benchmark test.
Birmingham scrap price FAQ
What is the scrap copper price in Birmingham today?
As of the latest update, the indicative price for clean number 1 copper is about £9.10 per kg in GBP. Birmingham yards typically quote within a few percent of that figure either side, depending on grade, volume and the buyer; the live board above shows all fifteen grades.
Why are Birmingham scrap prices often better than elsewhere in the UK?
Competition. The city and the Black Country hold an unusually dense cluster of independent merchants, so quotes are sharper and grading is finer, especially on brass and copper. Two phone calls in Birmingham often beat three anywhere else.
Where can I sell scrap metal in Birmingham?
Aston and Nechells inside the city, Tyseley to the south-east, and the Black Country belt through Smethwick, West Bromwich and Wednesbury for heavier loads. All are licensed and cashless; bring photo ID and a proof of address.
Are Birmingham prices different from the national board?
The board on this page is the the United Kingdom indicative level, and Birmingham yards trade around it rather than exactly on it. Local competition, freight to the nearest consumer and the day's export demand set the spread, which is why two quotes in the same city can differ by several percent on the same morning.
Sources and methodology
The Birmingham board uses the the United Kingdom indicative prices: global exchange benchmarks (COMEX copper, CME aluminum and steel, NYMEX platinum and palladium, IMF monthly lead, zinc and nickel) multiplied by typical yard recovery shares, a local market factor of 0.96 and the day's exchange rate. The full method, the recovery shares and the correction policy are on our editorial policy page; local notes on this page are reviewed against published dealer information and reader corrections sent to info@scrappricetoday.com.
Prices are indicative and for information only; they are not offers to buy or sell. Yard quotes in Birmingham vary by grade, volume, condition and buyer.
Nearby and related
Scrap metal prices in the United Kingdom · All countries · Catalytic converter prices