Scrap Metal FAQs Adelaide — Grades, Prices and How Our Yard Works

We buy scrap metal from the public and the trade at our Green Fields yard, then grade, weigh and pay for it on the spot. Copper, brass, aluminium, lead, cable, batteries, motors, converters, radiators, mag wheels and whole vehicles all cross our weighbridge. We are buyers, not a waste disposal service.

12 Belfree Drive, Green Fields SA 5107, in Adelaide’s northern industrial belt just off Port Wakefield Road. It’s roughly 20 minutes from the CBD, 10 from Salisbury and 15 from Port Adelaide. Full directions are on our contact page.

No. We’re a locally owned South Australian business trading from a single Adelaide yard. Nobody interstate sets our rates or tells us what to buy, which is why we can price a grey-area load on its merits instead of refusing it because it doesn’t fit a national category list.

Yes. We operate as a licensed second-hand dealer under South Australian legislation, we carry public liability insurance, and every purchase is recorded and receipted as the law requires. If you ever want to see how a transaction was recorded, ask at the counter.

Not at all. Roughly half our counter is homeowners clearing a shed, a renovation or a deceased estate. Sparkies, plumbers, air-con techs, demolition crews and auto workshops make up the rest. Same rates, same process, same day payment for both.

No account is needed for a one-off sale — just turn up during trading hours with photo ID. Businesses selling regularly can have their details kept on file so repeat visits are quicker, but that’s a convenience, not a requirement.

It’s sorted by grade, consolidated into commercial volumes and moved on to smelters and refiners who turn it back into raw metal. Copper becomes new rod and tube, aluminium goes back into billet and castings, lead is recovered from batteries. Nothing saleable ends up in landfill.

No. SA Copper Scraps does not offer pickup, collection or on-site removal of any kind. We have no collection trucks and no bin hire. All material must be delivered to our yard at 12 Belfree Drive, Green Fields. This applies to every customer and every material, including vehicles.

You’ll need to arrange your own transport — a hired trailer, a tipper, a mate with a ute, or a commercial carrier. Plenty of customers do multiple smaller runs instead of one big one. Ring us first with an idea of the weight and we’ll tell you what’s realistic in one load.

No — we don’t run bins, skips, cages or stillages. We’re a buying yard only. If you need a container on site, you’ll need a waste or bin hire company, then bring the sorted metal to us separately.

Monday to Friday 7:30am–5:00pm, Saturday 7:30am–2:00pm, closed Sunday. We stop taking new loads shortly before closing so there’s time to sort, weigh and pay properly — aim to arrive at least 30 minutes before the door shuts.

We’re closed on South Australian public holidays unless we’ve advertised otherwise. Christmas–New Year hours change each year. Ring 08 7225 9998 before travelling if a holiday is anywhere near your visit.

No, walk-ins are welcome all day. Booking only matters for large commercial loads, multiple vehicles or anything needing a forklift, where a quick call means we have space and gear ready when you arrive.

Mid-morning to early afternoon Tuesday through Thursday. The busiest windows are first thing Monday, Friday afternoon when trades clear their week, and Saturday morning. Avoiding those means less waiting at the weighbridge.

A sorted boot-load of copper is usually done in 10–15 minutes. Mixed trailer loads that need separating take longer — 30 minutes or more. Sorting your metal before you arrive is the single biggest thing you can do to speed it up.

Yes. The yard takes cars, utes, vans, trailers and rigid trucks with room to turn. If you’re bringing a semi or anything oversized, call ahead so we can direct you to the right entry and make sure the space is clear.

Yard staff will point you where to tip and can assist with heavy or awkward items, and we have machinery for genuinely large pieces. For safety reasons the customer generally handles their own load, so bring gloves and a second pair of hands if it’s a big one.

Yes. Enclosed footwear is required — no thongs or sandals. Stay in the marked areas, keep clear of operating machinery, follow staff directions, and keep children and pets in the vehicle. We can refuse entry to anyone not dressed for an industrial site.

• Drive in and check in at the counter with photo ID.
• Staff sort your load into grades and inspect it.
• Each grade is weighed separately on calibrated scales, in front of you.
• You get an itemised breakdown — weight and rate per line.
• You approve it, and you’re paid before you leave.

You don’t have to — but you should. Unsorted loads get graded down to the lowest common denominator because we can’t pay clean copper rates for a bin that also contains brass fittings and steel brackets. Twenty minutes of sorting at home is often the best-paid twenty minutes of the job.

Keep each metal in its own bucket, bag or bin: copper separate from brass, aluminium separate from both, steel on its own, cable in its own pile. Within copper, keep clean bright wire apart from pipe with solder or paint. Label them if you’re bringing a lot.

We use certified, calibrated digital scales and every reading is visible on the display as your metal goes over it. Nothing is weighed out of sight. If a number looks wrong to you, say so at the time and we’ll reweigh it in front of you.

Yes, and each grade is weighed as its own line rather than one lump total. That’s how you can check the maths yourself: weight times rate, per grade, adding to the figure you’re paid.

Payment is made electronically by direct bank transfer, completed before you leave the yard — there’s no invoicing period and no waiting for a cheque. Bring your BSB and account number so the transfer can go through while you’re at the counter.

The transfer is processed at the counter the same visit. How fast it lands in your account depends on your bank — most Australian banks clear these within minutes via the New Payments Platform, some take until the next business day.

Yes. Every transaction is recorded and receipted, with the materials, weights and rates itemised. Keep it — trades and businesses need it for their books, and it’s your record of what was sold and when.

If you’re a GST-registered business selling scrap, bring your ABN and we’ll handle the paperwork accordingly. Private individuals selling household scrap generally aren’t dealing in GST at all. We’re not tax advisers — check your own position with your accountant.

We can give you an indicative range over the phone or by email if you describe the material and rough weight — photos help a lot. The firm figure always comes after inspection and weighing at the yard, because grade and contamination can only be judged with the metal in front of us.

You’re free to load up and leave — nothing is committed until you accept the figure. We’d rather explain why a load graded where it did than have you sell unhappy. Often the answer is that a bit more stripping or sorting moves it to a higher grade.

The person presenting the metal must show their own photo ID and the transaction is recorded in their name, with payment made to their account. If you’re clearing a relative’s estate or acting for an employer, bring documentation showing you’re authorised to sell it.

Indicative ranges for every material we buy are on our scrap metal prices page, with individual pages for copper, brass, aluminium, lead and more. Ring the yard for the live figure on the day you’re coming in.

No, and be wary of any yard that says theirs are. Published ranges are market guidance. The figure you’re actually paid is confirmed after your material is inspected, graded and weighed, because two loads of “copper” can be worth very different money.

Scrap tracks global commodity markets, principally the London Metal Exchange, which moves every trading day. Layer on the AUD/USD exchange rate, shipping costs, smelter demand and local supply, and the number that made sense last month may not today.

The London Metal Exchange sets the world benchmark price for refined copper, aluminium, lead and other metals. Scrap trades at a discount to that benchmark — the discount covers processing, transport, refining losses and margin. When the LME rises, Adelaide scrap rates follow, usually with a short lag.

Because the LME price is for refined, exchange-grade metal — 99.99% pure cathode. Your pipe has solder, oxide and fittings on it, and someone has to collect, sort, transport and re-refine it before it reaches that standard. The gap between the two is the cost of that work.

Yes, significantly. Metals are priced in US dollars, so a weaker AUD raises the Australian-dollar value of the same tonne of copper and a stronger AUD lowers it. It’s common for local rates to move on currency alone while the USD metal price sits still.

Per kilogram for non-ferrous metals — copper, brass, aluminium, lead. Heavy ferrous steel is often quoted per tonne because of the volumes involved. Either way the arithmetic is shown on your breakdown so you can check it.

Grade is grade — that part isn’t a negotiation, it’s an assessment. What genuinely moves the number is volume and consistency: regular commercial loads of clean, well-sorted material earn better rates than one-off mixed bins. Talk to us about a standing arrangement if you’re supplying weekly.

Nobody reliably times commodity markets, and metal sitting in your shed earns nothing while it oxidises. If you’re holding a large tonnage and can be flexible, watch the copper trend over a few weeks. For an average household load, the best time is when you’ve finished the job.

No minimum. A few kilos of copper off-cuts is a legitimate sale and we handle it the same way as a tonne. Bear in mind the travel and time cost is yours — many people bank small amounts in a bucket and come in when it’s worth the trip.

No handling charges, weighing fees or surcharges. The only deductions are physical ones you’d expect: if a load contains attached steel, dirt, water or non-metal, that weight is either removed or the grade is adjusted, and we’ll show you exactly why.

Tell us what you’ve been quoted and on what grade, and we’ll be straight with you about whether we can beat it. Compare carefully though — a headline rate for “copper” means nothing until you know which grade it applies to and what the yard deducts.

Different grading standards, different downstream buyers, different overheads. A yard quoting a high headline number may grade harder on arrival, so the effective rate is lower. The only fair comparison is the total dollars paid for the same load.

• Separate metals from each other before you arrive.
• Strip cable if the volume justifies the time.
• Remove steel brackets, screws and non-metal attachments.
• Keep clean bright copper away from painted or soldered pipe.
• Keep it dry — water and dirt weigh, but get deducted.

• Bright & shiny — clean, uncoated bare wire, no oxidation. Top rate.
• No. 1 copper — clean pipe, busbar and heavy wire, unalloyed, no solder or paint.
• No. 2 copper — solder, paint, light oxidation, thin-wall or fitted pipe.
• Copper with attachments — brass fittings, steel brackets, insulation still present.
• Insulated cable — priced on recoverable copper content.

Bare copper wire thicker than about 1.6mm, uncoated, unalloyed, with the original bright surface and no green or brown oxidation. Think fresh off-cuts from a rewire. Once it’s dulled to a chocolate colour it grades as No. 1 instead, even though it’s the same copper.

No. 1 is clean, unalloyed copper with nothing on it — bare pipe, busbar, heavy wire. No. 2 has something the refiner has to deal with: solder joints, paint, tinning, heavy oxidation or thin wall. The gap between the two grades is usually worth spending an hour with a hacksaw over.

Yes — solder is tin and lead, which contaminates the copper melt. Pipe with soldered joints drops from No. 1 to No. 2. Cutting the joints out and keeping the clean straight lengths separate lifts most of your load back to the higher grade.

Yes, we buy it — it just grades as No. 2 rather than No. 1. Don’t burn paint off; it’s illegal, dangerous and it oxidises the copper, which costs you more than the paint did. Mechanical removal is fine if you want the higher grade.

Absolutely. Green patina is surface oxidation, not decay — the copper underneath is intact. It grades lower than bright material because a small percentage is lost in refining, but heavily patinated roof sheet and old pipe still make good money.

If it has a copper inner tank, yes — that’s often 10–20kg of copper inside a steel jacket. Bring it whole and we’ll assess it, or strip the copper out yourself beforehand for a cleaner grade. Fully steel or stainless cylinders are worth far less.

Yes, please. Water is dead weight that gets deducted, it makes items dangerous to lift, and it spills across the yard. Drain and drip-dry anything that held liquid before loading it.

Yes. Copper sheet, gutter, flashing and downpipe are all bought by weight, generally as No. 1 or No. 2 depending on solder, paint and how much steel fixing is still attached. Pull the nails and brackets out and it grades better.

Yes, if there’s a reasonable quantity. Copper with brass still attached is graded down to the lower of the two, so you effectively get paid brass rates for the copper. Cut the fittings off, keep them in their own bucket, and sell both at their proper rate.

Tinned copper — common in marine and older appliance wiring — is copper with a tin coating. We buy it, but it grades below bright and shiny because the coating has to be dealt with in refining. Keep it separate so it doesn’t drag your clean wire down.

High value per kilo, easy to cut and carry, and historically easy to sell. Reported scrap metal thefts in South Australia have risen sharply, which is exactly why the ID, record-keeping and cashless rules in the section below exist — and why we apply them to every transaction.

Brass is copper alloyed with zinc. It’s yellow-gold rather than the salmon-pink of copper, heavier and harder than aluminium, and non-magnetic. Taps, valves, fittings, door hardware, sprinkler heads, keys and ornaments are typically brass.

Because it’s only part copper. Typical brass is around 60–70% copper with the balance zinc, so its value sits proportionally below the copper rate. That’s also why keeping them separated matters so much.

Yes. Clean yellow brass — taps, valves and fittings with no attachments — pays best. Mixed or “dirty” brass with steel screws, plastic washers, chrome plating or rubber seals grades lower because that material has to be removed or discounted.

Yes. Almost all chrome bathroom tapware is brass underneath a thin plating, and we buy it as brass. Don’t bother trying to strip the chrome — it barely affects the grade and it isn’t worth your afternoon.

Use a magnet. Brass is non-magnetic, so if it sticks, you’ve got plated steel and it’s worth ferrous rates. A file or a scratch in an unseen spot also tells you quickly: plated items show grey steel underneath, solid brass is yellow all the way through.

Only if they are completely spent, deprimed and contain no propellant or projectiles. Live ammunition is never accepted under any circumstances and must not be brought onto the site. If there’s any doubt, leave it out and ring us first.

All bought by weight as brass. Worth a thought first though: antique brassware, old bed frames and playable instruments sometimes fetch more from a collector or second-hand dealer than they do from us. Once it’s in the melt it’s gone.

• Extrusion — window and door frames, clean sections.
• Domestic/mixed — sheet, cookware, household items.
• Cast — engine parts, gearbox housings, brackets.
• Cans — beverage cans, best kept separate.
• Irony aluminium — with steel still attached, lowest rate.

It’s a consistent, known alloy with very little contamination, so it can go almost straight back into new extrusion. To hit that grade it needs the glass, rubber seals, plastic thermal breaks, screws and steel corner brackets removed — clean sections only.

Ring us first. Glass is a safety hazard in the yard and heavily reduces the grade. Frames with the glass removed grade as extrusion; frames with glass still in are worth substantially less and may need to be handled differently.

Almost always the deposit depot. South Australia’s container deposit scheme pays a fixed refund per eligible can, which works out far above the scrap aluminium rate by weight. Bring us your non-eligible aluminium instead — sheet, extrusion, cast and cookware.

Yes — heads, blocks, housings and manifolds are all bought as cast aluminium. They must be drained of oil and coolant, and any steel studs, liners or bearings pull the grade down towards irony. Degreased parts grade better.

Weight is the giveaway — aluminium is about a third the density, so it feels surprisingly light. Aluminium is dull grey and marks easily with a scratch; stainless is harder, brighter and often slightly magnetic depending on grade.

Aluminium with steel still attached — screws, brackets, bolts, motor mounts. It’s the lowest aluminium grade because the steel has to be separated out downstream. Pulling the steel off with a drill and a spanner is usually well paid work.

Clean, dry foil in reasonable volume, yes. Food-soiled trays and foil-laminated packaging are not worth processing and are better off in your kerbside recycling. Realistically, foil weighs so little that it rarely justifies the trip on its own.

All bought. Strip out the plastic feet, timber slats, rope and steel fixings where you can and it moves up a grade. Aluminium boats and dinghies are welcome — they must be empty, with the motor, fuel tank and batteries removed.

Sheet and flashing off roofs, old lead pipe, wheel balance weights, dive and keel weights, cable sheathing and lead from radiation shielding. Battery lead is handled separately — see the car batteries section.

Yes. Lead flashing is dense, so even a modest-looking roll adds up quickly on the scales. Scrape off the worst of the mortar, silicone and roofing cement — that material is deducted as contamination, and it’s your weight being discounted.

Lead is toxic if ingested or inhaled as dust or fume. Wear gloves, never cut or melt it in an enclosed space, wash your hands before eating or smoking, and don’t let children handle it. Transport it in a sealed container or bag rather than loose in the cabin.

Yes, and workshops bring them in by the bucket. Be aware many modern weights are zinc or steel rather than lead — we sort them at the counter, so mixed buckets are fine, they just won’t all pay the lead rate.

Lead is unmistakably heavy for its size, dull grey, non-magnetic, and soft enough to mark with a thumbnail or bend by hand. If a piece is light, springy or sticks to a magnet, it’s something else. Bring it in and we’ll identify it for you.

We buy both. Insulated cable is priced on its recoverable copper content, so a heavy cable with thin insulation pays close to bare copper rates, while thin flex with thick plastic pays much less per kilo.

It depends entirely on the cable. Heavy single-core or large multi-core with a high copper ratio is usually worth the effort. Thin domestic flex and data cable takes hours for a few kilos of copper — you’ll normally make more selling it as-is and spending the time elsewhere.

It’s the percentage of the cable’s total weight that is actual copper once the plastic, steel armour and filler are removed. Heavy power cable might be 60–80% copper; light data cable can be under 20%. That percentage is what sets the per-kilo rate we pay.

No. Burning cable is illegal in South Australia, it releases dioxins and heavy metals that are genuinely dangerous to you and your neighbours, and the resulting metal grades down anyway because the copper is oxidised and sooty. We do not buy burnt wire.

Yes. Armoured cable is priced lower per kilo because a large share of its weight is steel wire armour and bedding rather than copper. Bring it in as-is — cutting armour by hand is slow and awkward work.

Aluminium-cored cable — common in older mains and overhead runs — is bought at aluminium rates, well below copper. Nick the end and look: silver-grey and light is aluminium, pink-brown and heavy is copper. Keep the two apart.

Yes, at a low-recovery rate — the copper conductors are very fine relative to the sheathing. It’s worth bringing when you’ve stripped out a whole office or building, less so for a few metres from behind a desk.

Bring them. Cut the plugs and transformers off if you can be bothered — moulded plugs are dead weight that lowers the recovery percentage. Loose chargers and plug packs on their own are mostly plastic and worth very little.

Yes, but the drum’s weight comes off the total — we weigh the cable, not the timber or steel reel. If it’s a big drum, call ahead so we can have a forklift free when you arrive.

Yes — car, truck, marine, motorcycle and deep-cycle lead-acid batteries, paid by weight. They must be intact: cracked cases leaking sulphuric acid can’t be accepted safely and shouldn’t be transported.

Not at all. We’re buying the lead inside, not the charge. A flat battery, a dead one and a working one are all paid the same rate per kilo.

No. Lithium-ion batteries — EV packs, power tool batteries, laptop and phone cells, home storage units — are a serious fire risk and require specialist handling. Please don’t bring them to the yard; use a designated battery recycling drop-off point instead.

Upright, in a tray or tub that will contain a spill, secured so they can’t tip or slide. Never stack them loose in a boot or on their side. Terminals shouldn’t touch each other or bare metal — a rag or tape over them is cheap insurance.

They contain lead and sulphuric acid, both of which contaminate soil and groundwater, and it’s an offence to dispose of them in general waste. They’re also close to fully recyclable — the lead, plastic and acid are all recovered — so there’s no reason to bin one.

Starter motors, alternators, pool pumps, washing machine and dryer motors, power tool motors, fan and industrial three-phase motors. Whole motors are bought by weight at a rate that reflects the copper inside.

You can, and clean recovered windings pay copper rates. It’s heavy, awkward work with a chisel and a hacksaw, so for a couple of motors it isn’t worth it. For a pallet of them from a workshop clean-out, the numbers can start to stack up.

Usually slightly, because alternators carry a higher copper-to-steel ratio for their weight. Both are bought. Keep them separate from general steel — thrown in with the ferrous pile they’ll be paid at steel rates, which is a real loss.

No — burnt out, seized or stripped, it’s bought on metal content. If a motor is genuinely serviceable and a common type, it may be worth more sold as a used part than as scrap.

Yes. Pool pumps and hydraulic units must be drained of water and oil before they arrive. Anything still holding fluid can’t be accepted until it’s emptied, and oil spilled on the yard floor is a problem for everybody.

Yes, from legitimate sources with proof of ownership. Converters are assessed individually rather than by weight, because the value is in the precious metals in the ceramic honeycomb, not the steel shell.

They contain platinum, palladium and rhodium — precious metals worth far more per gram than copper. Rhodium in particular has traded at extraordinary prices. The loading varies hugely by make, model and year, which is why two similar-looking units can be worth very different money.

By identifying the unit — serial number, stamped codes, shape and vehicle it came from — and matching it against current precious metal recovery values. Bring it with the numbers legible and undamaged; grinding them off destroys your ability to prove what it is.

Yes. Converter theft is a well-known problem, so we require photo ID and will ask how you came by it — the vehicle it was removed from, a workshop invoice, or your business details. Anything that can’t be accounted for is not bought, and we cooperate fully with police.

Much less than original manufacturer units. Aftermarket and universal-fit converters carry a fraction of the precious metal loading. We’ll still assess them, but don’t expect the figures you may have seen quoted online for OEM units.

DPFs from diesel vehicles do contain recoverable platinum group metals, generally at lower loadings than a petrol converter. Bring it in with the codes visible and we’ll assess it on the same basis.

Yes — split system outdoor units, indoor heads, ducted units and window rattlers. They’re a good earner because the coils and compressor windings hold a lot of copper inside a steel and aluminium casing.

Yes. Refrigerant must be recovered by a licensed technician before disposal — venting it to atmosphere is an offence under Australian law. If your unit still holds gas, have a licensed air-con or refrigeration tech degas it, then bring the unit to us.

Ring us first. Same rule as air conditioners — degassing by a licensed technician is required, and units still containing refrigerant can’t be accepted. Degassed, they’re bought for the compressor and metal content.

Air-con and refrigeration compressors, car air-con compressors, and workshop air compressors. Sealed refrigeration compressors are bought whole and priced on their copper winding content; larger units may be assessed individually.

Yes. Drain the compressor oil before bringing it in and dispose of the oil at an oil recycling facility. Oil-filled units create a spill hazard and can’t be accepted until they’re empty.

Older vehicles used copper-brass radiators, which are heavy, non-magnetic and worth considerably more. Most modern radiators are aluminium core with plastic end tanks. Copper-brass is the better earner by a wide margin — a magnet and the weight in your hand will tell you which you’ve got.

Drain all coolant, pull off the plastic tanks and shrouds if they come away easily, and remove any steel mounting brackets. Clean copper-brass cores with no steel or plastic attached earn the best rate.

Yes, by weight as cast aluminium alloy. Damaged, buckled, kerbed and mismatched wheels are all fine — we’re buying the metal, not a matching set.

Wheels with tyres still fitted are worth noticeably less, because the tyre is dead weight and disposing of it costs money. Any tyre shop can break them off cheaply. Wheels off, weights and valve stems removed, is how you get the top rate.

Bought at ferrous steel rates, which is a small fraction of the alloy rate. Test with a magnet: if it sticks, it’s steel. Keep steel rims and alloy wheels in separate piles or the whole lot gets paid as steel.

Yes. Polished aluminium truck rims are heavy and made of good quality alloy, so a set adds up quickly. Bring them without tyres and give us a ring first if you’ve got a pallet’s worth.

If they’re a straight, undamaged, matching set for a popular vehicle, you’ll almost certainly do better selling them second-hand. Scrap is the right answer for bent, cracked, odd or unpopular wheels nobody wants to bolt on.

Yes. Heavy steel, light gauge sheet, cast iron, structural offcuts and mixed ferrous are all bought, priced well below non-ferrous metals. Ring ahead if you’re bringing a large ferrous-only load so we can confirm the rate and where to tip it.

Ferrous metals contain iron and are magnetic — steel, cast iron, wrought iron. Non-ferrous metals contain no iron and aren’t magnetic — copper, brass, aluminium, lead, zinc. Non-ferrous is worth far more per kilo, which is why the magnet test is the most useful tool in scrap.

Hold a household magnet to the metal. Sticks firmly? Ferrous — steel or iron. Doesn’t stick? Non-ferrous, and worth checking properly. Some stainless grades are weakly magnetic, so treat a faint pull as “ask at the counter” rather than a definite answer.

Yes. Stainless sits between ordinary steel and non-ferrous in value, and the grade matters — 304 and 316 with their nickel content pay better than lower grades. Sinks, benches, tanks, exhaust and commercial kitchen gear are all worth bringing in.

Washing machines, dryers, ovens, dishwashers and hot water services are accepted as mixed metal — they’re mostly steel with a copper motor or element inside. Anything containing refrigerant must be degassed first. Ring before bringing a trailer full.

Yes — cars, utes, vans, 4WDs and trucks in any condition, running or not. Value depends on weight, completeness, the catalytic converter and whether major components are still fitted.

No. We don’t offer vehicle collection or removal — the car has to arrive at the Green Fields yard. If it isn’t drivable you’ll need to arrange your own tow or tilt-tray. That cost is yours, so factor it in before deciding whether the sale is worth it.

Yes. Non-runners, write-offs, hail and flood damage, seized engines and rust buckets are all bought — we’re buying metal and salvageable parts, not a roadworthy vehicle. It just has to be delivered to us.

Yes, we buy unregistered vehicles. Remember an unregistered car can’t legally be driven on the road, so it must be towed or transported on a trailer. Bring whatever ownership documents you have along with your photo ID.

Photo ID matching the seller, and evidence you own the vehicle — registration papers, a previous sale receipt or other proof. We record the VIN and details of every vehicle purchase. We can’t buy a car you can’t demonstrate is yours to sell.

Remove the plates before or at the sale and return or surrender them to Service SA, then notify them of the disposal so the vehicle is no longer recorded against you. Any remaining registration may be refundable — that’s between you and Service SA.

• Clear out all personal belongings — check the glovebox, boot and under the seats.
• Remove the plates.
• Take out any aftermarket gear you want to keep or sell separately.
• Bring the keys and any ownership paperwork.

Kerb weight, whether the engine, gearbox, wheels and catalytic converter are still fitted, the current ferrous and non-ferrous market, and whether parts have resale value. A stripped shell is worth considerably less than a complete car of the same model.

You can, and if you have a buyer for the good parts you may come out ahead overall. Just tell us what’s been removed when you arrive — the quote reflects what’s actually on the vehicle, particularly the converter, wheels and drivetrain.

Vehicles are depolluted as part of processing, so you don’t need to strip them yourself. Do mention anything unusual — LPG tanks in particular must be declared, since pressurised cylinders need specific handling before the vehicle can be processed.

Constantly. Electricians, plumbers, air-con techs, demolition contractors, auto workshops, manufacturers and facility managers all supply us. Regular, well-sorted volume earns better rates than one-off mixed loads — talk to us about a standing arrangement.

Yes. Consistent volume of clean, pre-sorted material is worth more to us because it’s cheaper to process and easier to move on, and that’s reflected in the rate. Call the yard with your typical monthly tonnage and material mix and we’ll quote against it.

No — we don’t attend sites, provide bins or remove material. Site clearance has to be organised through your own labour or a carrier, with the metal delivered to our yard. What we can do is give you firm expectations on grades and rates so you can budget the job.

Yes, once it’s here. Cable, copper pipe, air-con plant, switchboards, aluminium framing and structural offcuts from a strip-out all have real value. Ring before the first load so we can talk through grading and make sure the yard is set up for it.

Every transaction is itemised and receipted, and business customers can have documentation set up to suit their bookkeeping. Bring your ABN and let us know what your accounts team needs.

Yes, with their own photo ID and the company details on file. Payment goes to the registered business account, not to the individual. Let us know in advance which staff are authorised so there’s no hold-up at the counter.

We have machinery on site for palletised and heavy loads. Ring ahead so it’s available when you arrive, and let us know if you need containers back — we’ll weigh them off rather than counting the tare as metal.

Transaction records showing materials and tonnages recycled are available for businesses that need them for waste diversion or environmental reporting. Tell us what format your reporting requires and we’ll work with it.

• Gas bottles, LPG cylinders and pressurised vessels (unless certified empty and cut open)
• Asbestos or anything containing it
• Lithium-ion batteries of any kind
• Live ammunition, explosives, flares and weapons
• Chemical drums, paint tins and fuel containers with residue
• Sealed containers where the contents can’t be identified
• Radioactive or medically contaminated material
• General household rubbish, timber, plasterboard and green waste

A cylinder with residual gas can explode when it hits a shear or a hot-cutting torch. It’s one of the most serious hazards in this industry. Empty, valve-removed and cut-open cylinders can sometimes be accepted — ring first, never just drop one in the pile.

We can’t accept it. Old switchboards, flue pipes, insulated pipework and some industrial plant contain asbestos-based material. It must be removed by a licensed asbestos remover and disposed of at a licensed facility before the metal comes to us.

We’re a metals yard, not an e-waste processor. Metal-rich items like server racks, cases and power supplies are usually fine; screens, printers and mixed electronics generally aren’t. Ring with a description before loading up.

Ring us first. Aluminium frames and copper-bearing inverters and cabling have value; the laminated glass panel itself needs specialist recycling. Frames stripped of the panel are straightforward aluminium extrusion.

No. We buy metal — we’re not a tip, and we can’t take timber, plasterboard, plastic, tyres or general waste off your hands. Loads arriving with significant rubbish mixed through them may be refused or heavily discounted.

Ring 08 7225 9998 or email a photo to info@sacopperscraps.com.au with a rough size and weight. Two minutes on the phone beats a 40-minute drive with something we have to turn away.

Yes. We can decline anything unsafe, prohibited, heavily contaminated, or where ownership can’t be established or ID can’t be produced. If we decline, the material leaves with you — we won’t dispose of it on your behalf.

Yes. Bring current photo identification — an Australian driver’s licence, passport or proof of age card. Your details are recorded against the transaction. No ID means no sale, with no exceptions, for anyone.

Because metal theft is only profitable if stolen material can be sold anonymously. Recorded, traceable transactions remove that market. It protects honest sellers too — it’s the reason a legitimate yard can operate openly and pay properly.

No. Sellers must be adults with valid photo ID. A parent or guardian is welcome to bring the material in and sell it in their own name.

It’s South Australia’s new scrap metal law, passed in response to a sharp rise in copper and construction-site metal theft. It introduces dealer registration and probity checks, mandatory identification and record-keeping for transactions, a ban on cash and cryptocurrency payments, and inspection powers for police. Provisions commence by proclamation, with registration expected to roll out from the 2026–27 financial year.

Cash leaves no trail, which is precisely what makes stolen metal saleable. NSW and Victoria moved to cashless scrap payments years ago and South Australia has now followed. Electronic payment creates a record linking seller, material and money — which is the whole point.

We refuse the transaction and report it. Every purchase is recorded against identified sellers, and we cooperate fully with SA Police, including providing records where lawfully requested. Selling stolen metal is a criminal offence, not a grey area.

Sometimes, particularly for high-risk items: catalytic converters, large runs of new cable, infrastructure fittings, plaques, grave and memorial metal, and quantities that don’t match a domestic clean-out. An honest answer is all that’s needed. It’s routine, not an accusation.

They’re held to meet our legal record-keeping obligations and disclosed only where the law requires — typically a lawful police request. We don’t sell or share your details for marketing.

Recycling metal uses a fraction of the energy of producing it from ore — dramatically so for aluminium — and avoids the mining, crushing, refining and tailings that go with primary production. It also keeps material out of landfill and reduces demand for new extraction.

Copper, aluminium, brass, lead and steel can be melted and reformed indefinitely without losing their properties — unlike paper or most plastics, which degrade each cycle. A significant share of the copper in use today has already been through this loop more than once.

Electrification. EVs, charging infrastructure, solar, wind, batteries and grid upgrades all need substantially more copper than the systems they replace. Recycled copper is a big part of meeting that demand without opening new mines.

It occupies landfill space permanently, can leach contaminants from batteries and coatings, and wastes all the energy embodied in producing it. You also pay a tip fee to throw away something we would have paid you for.

A shed clean-out often turns up more than people expect — old pipe, cable off-cuts, a dead pump, an alternator, a stack of alloy wheels. Even where the dollars are modest, it’s material that would otherwise be lost, and the trip is free of tip fees.

Separate what’s obviously copper, brass and aluminium into their own containers, put the steel aside, and set anything you can’t identify in a “don’t know” pile — we’ll sort that at the counter. Leave out gas bottles and unknown chemical containers entirely.

Customers come from right across greater Adelaide and regional South Australia — Salisbury, Elizabeth, Gawler, Port Adelaide, Modbury, Glenelg, Morphett Vale, Mount Barker and dozens more. “Service area” means where our customers travel from — not somewhere we visit.

Yes, if you can get the material to Green Fields. Customers regularly travel in from Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor and the Adelaide Hills. For a long trip, ring ahead with your material list so the journey is worth making.

12 Belfree Drive, Green Fields SA 5107, in the industrial estate off Port Wakefield Road. Put the address into your maps app and follow the signage at the entry. There’s room to turn a trailer once you’re inside.

For a bucket of brass, probably not — take the nearest option. For a trailer of copper, cable or a vehicle, the difference between grading standards can be worth far more than the fuel. Ring with your material list and we’ll be honest about whether the trip stacks up.

Of course. Each visit is weighed and paid as its own transaction, with ID recorded each time. Splitting a big clean-out over a few loads is completely normal — it’s often safer than overloading a trailer.

Phone 08 7225 9998 during trading hours — the yard answers and can price your material on the spot. For anything unusual, email photos to info@sacopperscraps.com.au with a rough weight, or use our contact form.