One Rewire, $1,112 Sorted or $338 in a Skip

A typical commercial rewire or service upgrade generates around 967 pounds of metal worth roughly $1,112 when it is sorted by grade. Tipped into one skip and sold as mixed, the same material is worth about $338. That is a 70 percent loss, and it happens on job sites every day because sorting is treated as cleanup rather than as part of the job.

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.

The reason the gap is so wide is that 40 percent of the weight carries 89 percent of the value.

What one job actually produces

The 40/89 split

The wire, bare copper, aluminium and brass together are 387 pounds, which is 40 percent of the weight. They carry $992, which is 89 percent of the value.

The steel panels, conduit, enclosures and fixtures are 60 percent of the weight and 11 percent of the value. They are also the bulkiest and heaviest things to move.

So the sorting effort should be inverted from what feels natural. The small light pile is the one that matters.

Sorting at teardown, not afterwards

Contractors who see reliable returns use labelled bins or designated truck zones for copper, brass, aluminium, wire and steel, and sort during teardown rather than revisiting the pile later.

That is the whole system. It costs nothing beyond the bins and it turns scrap into part of job closeout rather than a cleanup problem.

The practical rules that follow from it:

• Keep wire free of boxes, conduit and steel fittings. Mixed attachments drag a load into a lower grade.
• Group wire by insulation thickness. THHN, Romex and low-grade cord are three different prices, as our insulated wire analysis sets out.
• Never mix steel enclosures into a non-ferrous bin. Ferrous in a copper bin reduces the payout on everything in it.
• Store dry. Ferrous rusts, which costs weight, and wet loads attract moisture deductions.
• Keep bare copper separate from insulated. Bare bright is the top grade and it takes one bin to protect it.

Should the crew strip the wire?

On this job, the 120 pounds of THHN is worth $438 as it is. Stripped at a published recovery of 77 percent it becomes about $534, a gain of roughly $96.

Whether that is worth doing depends entirely on whether it happens on paid time. At two hours of a crew member’s time it is marginal; on a stripping machine during a quiet afternoon it is free money. Our wire stripping payback analysis gives the break-even calculation.

The firmer rule is the one on thin cable: below roughly 48 percent copper content the insulated grade pays more than the recovered copper, so low-grade cord should never be stripped.

Before it becomes scrap: the resale question

Retrofit work frequently pulls out equipment that still has resale value as equipment.

Switchgear, panels, breakers, transformers and fixtures in serviceable condition sell through electrical surplus outlets, and the price is set by what the item is rather than by what it weighs. A working breaker is worth many times its share of a $21 mixed-grade bin.

The test is the same one that applies to architectural cast iron: is it complete, identifiable and in demand. If yes, sell it as equipment first.

Which yard, and on what terms

Most yards will take contractor material, but many act as middlemen who resell to specialised processors, which shows up in the price.

At 967 pounds a job and repeat volume, an electrical contractor is squarely account-sized rather than walk-in. Several yards publish dedicated contractor price tiers and ask only for a business card. The terms worth agreeing are covered in our accounts and contracts analysis: written grade definitions, certified scale weights, and how the price is set.

Be wary of unusually high headline quotes. A yard that cannot process your material has to resell it, and the price will find its level at the scale rather than on the phone.

Two things to check before selling

Transformer age. Units manufactured before 1979 are likely to contain PCBs in their oil, and disposal cost can exceed the metal value. Do not drain or transport an oil-filled transformer of unknown vintage; our transformer analysis covers the rules.

Cable provenance. Copper attracts questions at every licensed yard, and rightly so. Job sheets, site addresses and a business account make the conversation routine, as our note on copper selling rules explains.

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

The job profile is a constructed example based on the material types electrical contractors report generating on service upgrades and retrofits, with weights chosen to represent a mid-sized commercial job. Your own mix will differ; the point is the ratio between weight and value rather than the totals.

THHN and Romex rates are published yard listings. Copper, aluminium, brass and light iron are our own daily board, documented on the editorial policy page with live figures on the board. Transformer, breaker and fixture rates are published yard grades rather than ours.

We do not buy scrap or take referral fees.

Questions people ask

How much scrap does an electrical job produce?

A mid-sized commercial rewire or service upgrade can generate around 967 pounds of metal worth roughly $1,112 sorted. Wire, bare copper, aluminium and brass make up 40 percent of that weight and 89 percent of the value.

What does it cost to skip everything as mixed metal?

On the job profile above, about $773, or 70 percent of the value. Sorted material comes to roughly $1,112 and the same weight sold as mixed at a low grade is around $338. Sorting at teardown is the single highest-return habit on a site.

How should a crew organise sorting without slowing down?

Labelled bins or designated truck zones for copper, brass, aluminium, wire and steel, filled during teardown rather than sorted afterwards. It costs nothing beyond the bins and turns scrap into part of job closeout instead of a cleanup task.

Is it worth stripping THHN on site?

It depends on whose time it uses. On this job, 120 pounds of THHN is $438 as is and about $534 stripped, a gain of roughly $96. On a machine during quiet time that is free money; at two hours of paid crew time it is marginal.

Does mixing steel into a copper bin really matter?

Yes. Yards commonly grade a container by the worst material present, so steel enclosures, boxes and fittings in a non-ferrous bin reduce the payout on everything in it, not just on the offending pieces.

Should old switchgear and breakers be scrapped or sold?

Sold, if they are complete, identifiable and serviceable. Electrical surplus outlets buy equipment on what it is rather than what it weighs, and a working breaker is worth many times its share of a mixed low-grade bin.

Do contractors get better prices than walk-in sellers?

Usually. At repeat volumes of several hundred pounds a job, a contractor is account-sized rather than walk-in, and several yards publish dedicated contractor tiers that require only a business card. Agree written grade definitions and confirm certified scale weights.

What should I check before selling old transformers?

The manufacture date. Units built before 1979 are likely to contain PCBs in their oil, and disposal cost can exceed the metal value. Do not open, drain or transport an oil-filled transformer of unknown vintage; sell it whole to a buyer equipped for it.

Frequently asked questions