Scrap copper bought and graded, from dry bright wire to braziery
Resilient Contracting buys scrap copper from plumbing, heating and electrical contractors, fabricators and strip-out firms. We grade it the way the trade does, weigh it and pay by bank transfer.
- Licensed dealerA Wigan Council scrap metal site licence, on the public register.
- Paid by bank transferStraight into your account, with a weight and grade record for each load.
- Graded, not lumped inEach metal priced for what it is, not as the cheapest thing in the pile.
- Paperwork doneWaste transfer notes for every collection, so your records stay complete.
Copper is usually the most valuable scrap a plumbing or electrical firm produces, and the easiest to undersell. The same metal can fall into several grades depending on its thickness, finish and what is soldered or screwed to it. A bucket of mixed pipe and wire is paid as the lowest grade in it.
From our licensed site at Martland Park in Wigan, we collect copper from yards, van stores and plant rooms. We explain each grade as we go, so you know what would move your next load up one.
Grades
Copper grades, and what keeps copper in each one
- 01
Dry bright wire
Bare, unalloyed copper wire with no tin, enamel, plating, insulation or tarnish, usually stripped from heavy cable. The top copper grade, so bag it apart from everything else.
- 02
No.1 or heavy copper
Thick, clean, unalloyed copper: busbar, earth bar, heavy offcuts, punchings and thick bare wire with light tarnish. Nothing plated, painted or soldered. Fabrication offcuts land here if they stay out of the general bin.
- 03
No.2 or mixed copper
Unalloyed copper that misses No.1 on condition: heavy oxidation, tinned or plated wire, light paint, some solder or oil. Most mixed buckets from site end up here.
- 04
Copper tube and pipe
Plumbing and heating pipe, graded on how clean it is. Cut out soldered joints and take off brass fittings and clips, and clean pipe can move up a grade. Painted, lagged or heavily soldered pipe stays lower.
- 05
Braziery copper
Thin copper with solder, brass or paint on it: old tanks, thin sheet, soldered flashings and fittings. It is the lowest solid copper grade, so keep it away from good pipe.
- 06
Copper cylinders
Hot water cylinders, drained and with the immersion heater out. Remove foam, jackets and steel brackets. Brass bosses and solder keep cylinders out of the clean grades, so they sell as their own grade.
- 07
Copper granules
Chopped copper from cable granulation, separated from the plastic. Keep granules dry and sealed in bags, away from dust and plastic fines, which are what usually cost a granule load its grade.
Price
What decides the price of scrap copper
Scrap copper follows the copper market. The London Metal Exchange (LME) price for refined copper moves through every trading day, so last week’s price is history. Scrap is bought below it, because it still has to be sorted, melted and refined.
Within that, grade does most of the work. Each step down from bright wire, through heavy and mixed copper to braziery, means more solder, plating, paint, brass or insulation to remove. Form and quantity count too: a volume of heavy pipe and bar is simpler to grade than odds and ends.
For today’s scrap copper price, call 01942 906041, or email a close photo showing joints and coatings, plus a rough weight, to info@resilient-contracting.co.uk. We’ll say which grade it looks like and what that grade is fetching today.
Today’s price, on the day
Scrap prices follow the metals markets and change daily. Call 01942 906041 or send photos and a rough weight through the quote form, and we will price what you actually have, grade by grade.
Copper we buy and collect
- Dry bright and bare copper wire
- Busbar, earth bar and heavy copper offcuts
- Clean copper tube and pipe
- Soldered and mixed copper pipe
- Copper sheet, strip and punchings
- Hot water cylinders and copper tanks, drained
- Braziery and thin-gauge copper
- Copper granules from cable processing
- Copper earthing tape
- Enamelled copper windings, taken off the steel core
- Insulated copper cable (see scrap cable)
Not copper scrap: where these go instead
- Brass fittings, valves and taps: they have their own grade, so put them in a separate brass container
- Copper-clad steel earth rods and copper-coloured plated steel: a magnet sticks to them, so they go with ferrous scrap
- Air conditioning and refrigeration pipework still holding gas: a qualified F-gas engineer must recover the refrigerant first
- Transformers, motors or tanks with oil still inside: tell us first, as they need a specialist route
- Kettles, appliances and other electrical items: a WEEE collection for electrical waste
Collection
Storing copper until it’s collected
Set up around your site and the amount you produce, so each metal stays in its own grade until it is collected.
Locked drums by grade
Copper walks. A lidded, lockable drum for each grade, kept indoors or in a compound, keeps it secure and sorted.
Stillages for pipe and bar
Long pipe and busbar lie flat in a stillage a forklift can lift, so nothing gets cut twice.
Skips for boiler house strip-outs
When a boiler house or plant room comes out, cylinders, pipework and heavy copper can all go in one roll-on/roll-off skip.
A collection when it adds up
Smaller producers need nothing on site. Call when you have a worthwhile amount and we’ll collect from your yard or van store.
Why it matters
Why sorting copper pays, and selling it legally
Sorting pays with copper because the gaps between its grades are wide. Snip the brass fittings off a bundle of pipe and you have two clean grades instead of one dirty one. Bag bright wire on its own and tarnished pipe can never drag it down.
Selling it has to be legal too. As a licensed dealer we must verify your full name and address from a reliable, independent source, keep a copy of the document and record what we buy. We pay by bank transfer only: the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 bans cash for scrap. A waste transfer note comes with every collection.
How it works
From a phone call to money in the bank
Say what the metal is and give us a rough weight or a skip size. A photo or two speeds it up. You will know how it will be priced before anything moves.
Call or send photos
What the metal is, how it is mixed, roughly how much and where it is. A few photos usually tell us most of it.
Collection arranged
A one-off pick-up, or cages, bins or a skip on site so it can be kept apart as it comes out.
Weighed and graded
Each metal is weighed and graded for what it is, so clean copper is not paid as mixed scrap.
Paid by bank transfer
Payment against the weights and grades, with a waste transfer note for the load.
Related services
Other scrap we buy
-
Scrap cable
SWA and power cable, copper and aluminium conductor runs, rewire offcuts and whole drums, sorted by type and paid for by bank transfer. Find out more -
Scrap stainless steel
Industrial stainless from plant, ducting, tanks and fabrication, sorted by grade so its nickel content counts. Find out more -
Scrap aluminium
Extrusions, sections, sheet, castings and turnings, kept clean and separate from steel and plastics. Find out more
How much is scrap copper per kg?
A single figure for “copper” doesn’t mean much. The price per kg depends on the grade, which makes a big difference, and on the copper market that day, which moves constantly. Dry bright wire pays the most and braziery the least. Call us, or send a photo and a rough weight, and we’ll give you today’s price for your grade.
What is dry bright copper?
Bare, unalloyed copper wire that is clean, dry and shiny: no oil, tarnish, tin, enamel or plating. It usually comes from stripping heavy cable. As the top copper grade it is worth keeping completely apart, because tinned or enamelled strands, or scraps of insulation, can drop a bag to a lower grade.
Is it worth taking fittings off copper pipe?
Usually, yes. Brass fittings and soldered joints are what hold pipe back from the cleaner grades. Cut off compression fittings and put them with your brass, and cut out heavy solder. The pipe moves up a grade and the brass is paid as brass, not as dirty copper. For a handful of short lengths, ask us first.
What do I need to sell scrap copper?
Your full name and address, verified against a reliable, independent document, and bank details for payment. Selling for a business? Have the company name and address to hand. The law requires us to check who supplies scrap and keep records, and we can only pay by bank transfer. For copper from a job, the waste transfer note covers your duty of care.
How do I get today’s price for my scrap?
Call 01942 906041 or send us a few photos through the quote form with a rough weight or volume. Scrap prices follow the metals markets and change from day to day, so we price on what you actually have at the time, by grade, rather than quoting a figure that could be out of date tomorrow.
Is it worth separating our scrap?
Almost always. A load is graded on what drags it down, so copper with brass fittings left on, stainless with mild steel brackets or cable thrown in with general waste is bought as the poorer material. One cage or bin per metal, with the rubbish kept out, is the cheapest way to lift what your scrap earns.
Scrap copper across the North West
Collections of copper from sites right across the region. Each town page covers the estates and industry nearby.
- WiganOur home town
- Skelmersdale4 miles from our Martland Park site
- Chorley7 miles from our Martland Park site
- St Helens7 miles from our Martland Park site
- Leigh8 miles from our Martland Park site
- Bolton10 miles from our Martland Park site
- Warrington12 miles from our Martland Park site
- Preston14 miles from our Martland Park site
- Bury16 miles from our Martland Park site
- Liverpool16 miles from our Martland Park site
- Salford17 miles from our Martland Park site
- Manchester19 miles from our Martland Park site
Sell your scrap
Get today’s price for your copper
Tell us what metal you have, roughly how much and where it is. Photos help. We will come back with how it will be priced and how to get it collected.
- Call 01942 906041For today’s price and a collection
- Emailinfo@resilient-contracting.co.uk
- Our siteUnit 11 Otterswood Square, Martland Park, Wigan WN5 0LF