Mowers and Garden Metal: $7 Whole, $17 Sorted, and the Deck Worth Checking

A push mower handed over whole is usually bought as dirty aluminium at around $0.10 a pound, which is about $7 for a 70 pound machine. Take twenty minutes to pull the engine, drain it and separate the metals and the same mower comes to about $17. A riding mower goes from roughly $53 as shred to about $92 sorted. Nothing goes anywhere until the fuel and oil are out, because no facility accepts a machine with fluids in it.

Scrap Price Today market analysis, written from exchange settlement data, mill and refiner pricing practice and published policy documents. Figures are examples; today's numbers are on the live scrap price board.

Garden and outdoor equipment is the most seasonal scrap most households produce and the most commonly left to rust.

Fluids first, always

This is not preparation advice, it is a condition of acceptance.

• Fuel. Siphon it out. Running the machine dry works only if it starts and you have grass to cut. Old petrol goes to household hazardous waste, never in a bin or a drain, as our fluids page sets out.
• Oil. Tilt the machine with the air filter side up so oil does not flood the filter, and drain into a sealed container. Most auto parts retailers take used oil free.
• The stubborn ones. Some engines hold oil that will not pour out. Drilling the sump is common practice among scrappers, and if that is beyond you, most yards will still take a drained-as-far-as-possible engine; ask first.
• Spark plug lead. Pull the boot off before transport so nothing turns over unexpectedly.
• Battery. Out first on anything that has one. Lead-acid goes to a yard or auto parts retailer; a lithium pack from an electric machine goes to a battery channel, never in with the metal.

The push mower, sorted

Against about $7 whole, that is $10 of uplift for twenty minutes, and it matches the $5 to $15 range published for whole push mowers at counters.

The engine is the prize. It is a fifth of the weight and 42 percent of the value, because it is aluminium rather than steel. Strip the plastic shroud off and drain it and most yards will grade it as cast aluminium rather than as dirty aluminium.

The aluminium deck, worth checking for

Older mowers occasionally have a cast aluminium deck rather than a pressed steel one, usually silver rather than painted.

A 20 pound aluminium deck is worth about $17 on its own, against $5.54 for a 42 pound steel deck. That single difference triples the value of the machine, and a magnet identifies it in a second.

The riding mower

Sold whole into shred that is about $53, so sorting is worth roughly $39. Published counter quotes for riding mowers range widely, from $50 to $300 depending on size, age and how much aluminium is in it.

The transaxle is the part most people miss. It is cast aluminium, it comes out with a few bolts, and it is worth more than the wheels, hardware and battery combined.

Everything else in the garden

A dismantled steel shed is one of the few household items that clears a trip on its own. Everything below it on that list belongs in a load with other material, using the roughly $30 threshold our scrap value index applies across the house.

Working machines are worth more than metal

This needs saying because the numbers above are small.

A working push mower listed free online is claimed within hours, and a working machine sold rather than given away is worth many times its $17 of metal. Even a broken one advertised for parts finds a taker, because small engine repairers want them.

Scrap is the right answer for a seized engine, a cracked deck or a machine that has been outside for years. It is the wrong answer for something that needs a carburettor clean.

Preparation that changes the grade

• Remove plastic shrouds, handles, grass boxes and grips. They are weight the yard will not pay for and can move a load to a dirty grade.
• Take rubber tyres off wheels where the hub is steel or aluminium; ask your yard first, since practice varies.
• Separate the engine from the deck before you decide anything. They are two different grades.
• Use a magnet on the deck, the engine and the transaxle. Aluminium is worth roughly six times light iron.
• Keep the wiring loom. One pound of it is worth more than five pounds of steel wheels.

What this metal pays around the world

Scrap is a global market priced in US dollars, but what reaches a seller depends on trade position, freight to the nearest consumer and how many buyers compete locally. The table below converts the same grade into each market’s own currency and units at the day’s exchange rate, and shows the factor we apply.

Method

Component weights are typical figures for domestic machines and vary considerably by model, age and construction. Weigh or estimate your own before treating any total as a target.

The dirty aluminium rate for whole mowers and the counter quote ranges are taken from published yard listings and practitioner reports. Grade prices are our own daily board, documented on the editorial policy page with live figures on the board. The engine block value assumes a discount to clean aluminium because steel fasteners and internals remain attached.

We do not buy scrap or take referral fees, and the recommendation to sell or give away a working machine is made against our own interest as a price publisher.

Questions people ask

How much is a lawn mower worth as scrap?

A 70 pound push mower is worth about $7 handed over whole as dirty aluminium and about $17 sorted, which matches published counter quotes of $5 to $15. A riding mower is roughly $53 as shred and about $92 sorted, with published quotes ranging from $50 to $300.

Do I have to drain the fuel and oil first?

Yes, and it is a condition of acceptance rather than a tip. No scrap yard, transfer station or bulk collection takes a machine with fluids in it. Siphon the fuel, tilt the machine with the air filter side up to drain the oil, and take used oil to an auto parts retailer.

Is it worth taking the engine off?

Usually yes. The engine is about a fifth of a push mower's weight and 42 percent of its value because the block is aluminium rather than steel. Strip the plastic shroud, drain it, and most yards will grade it as cast aluminium rather than dirty aluminium.

How do I tell if the deck is aluminium?

Use a magnet. It sticks to a pressed steel deck and not to a cast aluminium one, which is usually silver rather than painted and turns up on some older machines. A 20 pound aluminium deck is worth about $17 against $5.54 for a 42 pound steel deck.

What part of a riding mower do people miss?

The transaxle. It is cast aluminium, comes out with a few bolts, and at about 25 pounds is worth roughly $12.75, which is more than the wheels, hardware and battery combined.

Do I need to take the tyres off?

It depends on the yard, so ask. Some accept wheels with tyres fitted and simply pay less, others require them removed. Where the hub is steel or aluminium it is usually worth separating, and tyres themselves are a disposal cost rather than a scrap item.

Is a barbecue or wheelbarrow worth a trip?

No. A steel barbecue is around $5.94 and a wheelbarrow $3.30, against roughly $30 for the fuel and time of a trip. Keep them for a load that is going anyway. A dismantled steel shed at about $46 is one of the few garden items that clears a trip on its own.

Should I scrap a mower that still runs?

No. A working machine is worth many times its $17 of metal, and a working mower listed free online is claimed within hours. Even a broken one advertised for parts finds a taker among small engine repairers. Scrap a seized engine or a cracked deck, not a dirty carburettor.

Frequently asked questions