Pile of scrap stainless steel and other metals

Get the Most for Your Scrap Stainless Steel

Have some stainless steel lying around the house not being used? This is your chance to make some bank!

Stainless steel is a nonferrous metal with a high value in metal recycling, commonly found in homes in the form of sinks, splashbacks, kitchenware like pots and pans, and more. If it’s shiny and metal but not magnetic—there’s a good chance, it’s stainless.

Or, if you work in a manufacturing company that makes these types of products, you may have some by-products or off-cuts lying around. If you have stainless steel, we’ll scrap it, and you’ll make some money. It really is as easy as that.

Below, we explore how you can get the best scrap stainless steel value when you bring it into our scrap metal collection locations.

 

What stainless steel can I scrap?

Stainless steel comes in many shapes and forms, and sometimes it can be rather deceptive. You might have a fridge that looks like stainless steel, but it isn’t. You also might have some appliances that you think couldn’t possibly be stainless, but it turns out that they are. Here are a few tips on how to check if something is stainless steel.

Test #1 – The spark test is something that every good scrapper should know how to do. If you grind a bit of the item in question on a grinding wheel and it throws a ‘glow’ of sparks, then it is steel. If it is non-magnetic and gives off sparks, the item is likely made of a 300-series grade of stainless steel.

Test #2 – Check the item for rust. Aluminium won’t rust; however, stainless steel can rust over time in extreme conditions. If there is rust, you at least know you don’t have aluminium when recycling stainless steel in Falmouth.

Test #3 – The item’s density is also a dead giveaway. For example, the weight of aluminium is typically three times lighter or more than stainless steel. So, if the item feels about the same weight as regular steel, chances are good it is stainless steel. If it is really lightweight, you probably have aluminium on your hands.

 

Some of the stainless-steel items we take include:

  • Sinks
  • Splashbacks
  • Kitchenware like saucepans and cutlery
  • Sanitaryware and troughs
  • Brewery, dairy, marine, food, and pharmaceutical production equipment
  • Boat fittings
  • Tubing
  • Engineering offcuts
  • Profiles
  • Pipes
  • Valves
  • Springs
  • Some nuts, bolts, and screws

Want to check what your stainless-steel scrap could be worth? We’d love to hear from you, so get in touch with our team via Facebook Messenger, email, or give us a call on 0800 44 88 99.

How is steel graded and priced?

By now, you probably have some stainless steel to get rid of and want to know how much you’ll get for it. Stainless steel is weighed and paid by the kilogram, but not all stainless steel is the same. As it goes with most scrap metals, the difference in grades determines the price you get.

We see two main types of stainless steel, 304 and 316 – one of which is a tad more lucrative than the other. Stainless steel 304 is what we see come through the door most, generally in the form of kitchenware.

316 will get you more bang for your buck as it typically comes in solid pieces of stainless steel and is usually found within the marine, food, and dairy industries. This form will have a stamp imprinted on it somewhere, so you’ll know if it will get you a higher price.

Both types of stainless steel are non-magnetic. So, let’s just say, if a fridge magnet’s sticking to it, it’s probably not stainless!

We also can scrap stainless swarf, which is the turnings and shavings from processing 304 and 316 stainless steel, although this generally won’t be priced as high given the small quantities the shavings typically come in.

But at the end of the day, your trash is our treasure! If you have stainless steel scrap you’re looking to flick, fire us a message. Our friendly team would love to hear from you, so feel free to send us an enquiry to find out what it could be worth.

 

How to upgrade and make more money from your stainless-steel scrap

Putting in the extra work to sort your stainless-steel metals will give you a better price when selling the goods. Start by separating your higher graded 316 stainless steel from the 304 graded stuff. This helps ensure you are getting the best price simply by putting in all the effort to get it recycled and ensure it’s not getting graded as mixed.

If you have some items that are alloys (a mix of copper and another metal), it’s best to keep that aside – we should be able to give you a price for that too. Make sure you also remove non-metal attachments, as we don’t want anything like that getting in the way of giving you top dollar.

If you’re a bottomless pit for beers and you have some empty kegs that you want some cash back for, firstly, make sure you’ve enjoyed all the beer from them (the easy part). Secondly, check that they’re decompressed if you can.

 

Get in touch with the team at Endless

Here at Endless, metal’s our middle name! If you have stainless steel scrap you want to enquire about, you can get in touch with us from Monday to Friday between 7 am to 5 pm and on Saturdays between 7 am to 1 pm. Our friendly team would love to hear from you. Check out our scrap stainless steel prices online, or feel free to send us an enquiry to discover what your steel treasures could be worth.