Where do Scrap metal go?

Steel and aluminium are recycled indefinitely without loss of quality, and the recovered metal is worth enough that scrap merchants collect it free and often pay. Household waste centres have a dedicated skip. Anything with a motor, a plug or a battery is electrical waste rather than scrap and goes to the WEEE cage instead, and sealed vessels — gas cylinders, aerosols, extinguishers — must be kept out of scrap entirely because they explode when the load is sheared or baled. In the UK, selling scrap requires ID under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act, which is worth knowing before turning up expecting cash. Whether your council also collects scrap at the kerb varies, so check the local list.

How to prepare it

1. Separate anything electrical, pressurised or containing a battery out of the scrap pile.
2. Take ID if you are selling scrap in the UK; cash payment is prohibited.

What not to do

• Never put a gas cylinder, aerosol or extinguisher in a scrap load — sealed vessels explode when the metal is sheared.

Kerbside collection rules genuinely vary by council and county, and local rules always win over general guidance. The reasoning above is what transfers — if your service differs, it will usually be for a reason described here.

Other things that go to household waste recycling centre

• Leftover wet paint Household waste centre or a community paint reuse scheme. Liquid paint is not accepted in any household bin.
• Car batteries (lead-acid) Garage, scrap yard or household waste centre. Lead-acid is the most successfully recycled consumer product there is.
• Used motor oil Household waste centre oil bank, or a garage that accepts it. One container of it contaminates an enormous volume of water.
• Small electricals (kettles, toasters, hair dryers) Electrical waste. Household waste centre, a shop take-back point, or a kerbside small-electricals sack if your council runs one.
• Pyrex and heat-resistant glassware Never the glass bin. Ovenware is formulated not to melt like bottle glass, and one fragment can ruin a whole batch.
• Televisions and monitors WEEE recycling. Old CRT sets contain several kilograms of leaded glass.
• CFL energy-saving bulbs Household waste centre or a shop take-back point. They contain mercury and must not be binned.
• LED bulbs Small electricals recycling. No mercury, but they are electronics, not glass.
• Drinking glasses and wine glasses Not the glass bin. Tableware glass has a different composition from bottle glass.
• Smoke alarms Household waste centre or manufacturer return. Ionisation alarms contain a tiny sealed radioactive source.
• Crockery, mugs and ceramics Not glass and not recyclable at the kerb. Donate what is whole; broken pieces go to the household waste centre or general waste.
• Fluorescent tubes Household waste centre, intact. Mercury inside, and a tube that breaks in transit is a spill.
• Camping gas canisters and butane cartridges Household waste centre, as gas cylinders — not the metal skip and never a bin, whether or not they feel empty.
• Fire extinguishers Household waste centre or a fire equipment company. It is pressurised until a professional has discharged it.