Yes, in most areas someone will come and take scrap metal away, and often at no charge to you.
But "free collection" and "getting paid" are two different transactions, and a lot of people ask for the first when they should be asking for the second. Knowing which one you want changes who you should call.
The three ways scrap leaves your property
Free collection. A collector takes the metal away at no cost to you. They keep it and sell it. You get the space back and nothing else.
Paid collection. A dealer collects and pays you for the material, usually after weighing it. You get money and the space.
You take it in. You load it yourself and drive to a yard, which almost always pays the best rate because they have no collection cost to recover.
The gap between the first and second is the whole point. Free collection is a service being done for you. Paid collection is a purchase being made from you. If your pile contains copper, brass or a decent quantity of aluminium, you are probably in the second category and should not be accepting the first.
When free collection is the right answer
Free is genuinely the better option in several ordinary situations.
Mixed, low-value metal. Old steel shelving, a broken lawnmower, general household oddments. The material is worth little enough that the collection cost eats the value, and having it gone is worth more than the few pounds it represents.
Bulky items you cannot move. An old bath, a cooker, a radiator. These have real weight and low value per kilo, and loading them without help is how people hurt themselves.
Appliances. Fridges, freezers, washing machines and similar. These are worth something as scrap, but they contain components that need proper handling, and most collectors price that into taking them free rather than paying.
You want it gone today. Convenience has a value and there is nothing wrong with choosing it.
When you should be paid instead
Copper in any quantity. Pipe, cable, tank, wire. Copper is worth many times what steel is by weight, and a small amount is worth real money. Anyone offering to take copper away "free" is doing well out of it.
Brass fittings, taps, valves. Heavy, and worth several times steel.
Aluminium in volume. Lower value per kilo than copper but it adds up quickly across a decent load.
Any clear single metal in quantity. Sorted material is worth more than mixed, and a dealer who collects it is buying something they can sell on without work.
A car or large vehicle. These have an established market value. Free removal of a whole car is rarely the best deal available.
What actually decides whether anyone comes
Collectors and dealers make the same calculation every time, and it is worth understanding because it explains the answers you get.
Distance. A collector will travel further for a better load. If you are rural and your pile is small, expect fewer callbacks.
Value of the load. They are covering fuel, time and vehicle wear before they make anything. A load worth twenty pounds does not cover a forty-minute round trip.
Access. Can a van get to it? Is it upstairs? Is it behind a locked gate? Difficult access turns a viable collection into an unviable one.
Whether it is sorted. A separated pile is quicker to load and easier to sell. A mixed heap has to be dealt with afterwards.
If nobody is calling you back, one of those four is usually why, and three of them you can do something about.
Rough thresholds, honestly
There is no universal minimum, but the working picture across most areas looks like this.
Under about 50kg of mixed metal, you will struggle to get anyone to collect at all, free or otherwise. Take it in yourself or accumulate more.
50 to 200kg of mixed metal, free collection is realistic. Payment is unlikely unless there is something valuable in it.
Over about 200kg, or any decent quantity of non-ferrous, you should be asking for a price rather than a favour.
Any copper at all, weigh it and ask what they will pay per kilo before agreeing to anything.
These are rules of thumb, not rules. A yard with a quiet van on a Tuesday will do things a busy one will not.
How to get a better answer on the phone
Four things make a real difference, and they take five minutes.
Say what it is, not just that it is metal. "About 80 kilos, mostly steel, plus maybe 10 kilos of copper pipe" gets a different response from "some old metal".
Weigh it, or estimate properly. A bathroom scale and a few trips is enough. Guessing low costs you; guessing wildly high wastes their journey and yours.
Separate before you call. Copper and brass in one pile, aluminium in another, steel in a third. It takes half an hour and it changes what the load is worth.
Ask two or three. Prices and willingness to travel vary more than people expect between operators covering the same area.
Who to call
Licensed scrap metal dealers are the main option, and many run collection vehicles alongside their yard.
Independent collectors cover smaller loads and often work a regular round. They are the ones most likely to take a genuinely low-value pile free.
House clearance firms handle mixed situations where metal is part of a larger job.
Whoever you use, check they are licensed. In Britain that means a scrap metal dealer licence from the local council, held either as a site licence or a collector's licence. A collector without one is not supposed to be doing it, and material that leaves with them has no traceable record.
You can find licensed yards and collectors near you on our locator, which lists dealers by area with a named source for every entry, alongside today's prices.
One thing worth knowing before you agree
Cash payment for scrap metal has been illegal in England, Wales and Scotland since December 2012. A dealer buying from you must pay by bank transfer or cheque, and must record your identity.
If someone offers you cash, they are either not licensed or not following the rules that apply to them. That is a signal about everything else in the transaction, and it is a reason to call someone else rather than a bargain.
The short version
If it is mixed, heavy and low value, free collection is a good deal and you should take it. If it is mostly rubbish with some metal in it, removal is a different job with a different price.
If there is copper, brass or real volume in it, ask what they will pay before you let it go. The difference between "we'll take that away for you" and "we'll give you X per kilo" is sometimes a few pounds and sometimes a few hundred, and the only way to find out is to ask.
*Last checked: 11 September 2026. Thresholds are rules of thumb and vary by area and operator.*