Scrappers of Burbank: there’s a lot going on in your town. We see the progress every time we venture outside the confines of our scrap metal recycling center here in Sun Valley. A cruise down I-5 and we can see the progress on the Burbank Blvd bridge that will soon (once again) span Interstate 5 and connect the two halves of Burbank. Near that bridge construction however, it’s apparent that another big construction project is going on in downtown Burbank. This is the First Street Village project which was begun not too long ago and is slated for completion in 2023. It will occupy the area of downtown Burbank on First Street, from Magnolia to the alley southeast of Palm. The 6-story buildings will house retail shops as well as apartments on the top floors.

That’s not the only construction project going on—not by a long shot. Avion Burbank is the largest construction project in the San Fernando Valley and it looks it. We see it every time we drive down Hollywood Way on our way from Sun Valley to Burbank. This project is nearing completion and will contain warehouses, retail, restaurants and a hotel. The warehouses alone (which will be used by Amazon) total more than 1 million square feet.

There are other projects in the works or being considered by the Burbank City council. All this means a host of construction and all the leftover materials that invariably come with building. Some metal materials used in construction include things like rebar, metal sheathed electrical wires, those bright and shiny copper wires we love so much as well as metal items that may be specific to the design of a particular building. To Burbank or other San Fernando Valley scrappers, we say, if you’ve got a bunch of waste construction materials (metal, of course) or construction or demolition debris, TM Scrap Metals is the destination to bring those metals to for cash!

We mention Burbank in this post since it does border our Sun Valley location and it’s experiencing a spurt of building in these last couple of years, but the same advice could apply to Glendale scrappers, those in Encino or Woodland Hills. If you find yourself in possession of scrap metal, bring it to us! Or (and here’s where we repeat ourselves ad infinitum) we’ll come to you! Yes, we once again promote our mobile metal recycling service, but why not? It’s true and it makes scrapping for cash extremely simple. Call us and we’ll come to you wherever you are in Los Angeles or the San Fernando Valley. 818-771-0510.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

Scrap metal dealers are in high demand these days and it doesn’t look like things are slowing down. Indeed, now with the state of California opening up fully on June 15, we should be seeing an increase in manufacturing with metals. Increased activity by a population that has been sequestered for too long means that more people will be out doing things and buying things. Increased patronage of restaurants means more sodas and food packaging, both of which make heavy use of metals (think aluminum cans or those metal to-go boxes. The more people out buying and dining, the higher the demand for metal.

When home sales rise, the demand for metals goes up too. Many homes are built using metal frames (and with lumber prices skyrocketing, many may opt to make more use of metal) and copper pipes may be used when laying in plumbing for new homes.

All that metal must come from somewhere and unless you’re digging it out of the ground, every business, manufacturing plant or foundry is going to deal with a scrap metal dealer to get the metals they need to make their products. When speaking about Los Angeles scrap metal dealers, TM Scrap Metals is at the top of the list. We’re the dealer those companies will, er… deal with when they need more supply.

The reverse of that equation means WE have to keep acquiring scrap metal to be able to sell it to our customers. Where do we get that scrap? From you of course. Now, you may be physically near our Sun Valley, CA location (central to North Hollywood, Pacoima, Burbank or Glendale) but as we usually say in these posts it doesn’t matter where in greater Los Angeles you are because our mobile recycling service means we can come to your location to pick up your scrap metal. Because of this we can claim quite accurately that we are the scrap metal dealer near you. Wherever you are from Pasadena to Simi Valley, Chatsworth to Calabasas, we can be there too.  Call us and let us pick up your scrap metal. 818-771-0510.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

“Recycling center near me” is a popular search on the internet. We know because that’s how a lot of people find us online. We did some research and in Los Angeles County there are approximately 33,000 searches per month for that term. That tells us that a LOT of folks are recycling and a lot are looking for recycling centers like ours to earn cash for that scrap metal.

In our portion of Los Angeles (near the Burbank, CA – Sun Valley border) the area is dedicated to more industrial businesses like scrap metal recycling or auto part yards. Because our location is so close to Interstate 5 (which runs through Sun Valley) it makes us all the more convenient for many in the San Fernando Valley. For much of the Valley we truly are the recycling center near you!

That moniker also applies to all of greater Los Angeles since TM Scrap Metals has a mobile recycling option. That’s right, you don’t have to lift a finger to recycle your scrap copper, aluminum, brass or steel (or any other metal). We can come to you!

L.A. Recycling Center Metal Preparation

You may want to separate or prepare your scrap metals for recycling and many recycling centers or programs throughout the country have their own requirements on how to do this (and we did touch on this in our earlier recycling center post) but either the scrap seller or the scrap metal recycling company will need to separate the different types of metal so that they can be easily melted down.

If you’ve visited TM Scrap Metals or any other scrap yard you’ve realized that metal recycling has an efficient method and that just before the melting process each specific metal is crushed into large cubes that can be easily shipped to whatever foundry they’re bound for.

If you want to read about the recycling process in more depth, visit the Earth 911 website which goes into greater detail.  One item of note about metal recycling; did you know that nonferrous metals make up only around 10 percent of recycled metal, but account for more than 50 percent of all cash paid for scrap? Nonferrous metals are things that don’t contain iron, such as stainless steel.

If you are looking for a way to help the environment and make some money at the same time, and you are living in the Los Angeles / San Fernando Valley area, check out TM Scrap Metals. We truly are the recycling center near you. Call us today at 818-771-0510!

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

Copper wire recycling in Los Angeles is a hot topic just as it is in other parts of the country.  Copper wire, also known as Cu cable is in high demand by scrap metal recycling yards. The price you get for recycling wire depends on the type.  Check out our scrap metal pricing page for more information various types of wire for recycling. Do you have wire you want to recycle as scrap? You need us to come pick it up?  Use TM Scrap Metal’s mobile recycling service.

Trying to recycle various types of wire can be quite an effort due to the obvious fact that many wires are coated in plastic and this plastic must be stripped from the wire before the metal is recycled. An L.A. recycling center such as TM Scrap Metals makes the process easier because we have the equipment designed to quickly strip lots of wire.  This is not something that most people have on hand so it’s better to bring your coated copper wire to us for stripping and recycling. In addition it’s a lot safer than trying to Strip the wire yourselves.  True, wire that has been stripped brings a higher price than coated copper wire for obvious reasons but how much time and effort are you going to spend on stripping wire yourself? Is it worth it? We think not.

Let’s break this down and use the example of 100 pounds of copper wire with coating, known as insulated copper wire. Let’s take the example of 12 gauge wire. When talking about recycling we need to keep in mind how much copper can be recovered from this type of wire. In this case it’s about 75%. Let’s say you took the time to strip this copper wire yourself. Out of the original hundred pounds you end up with 75 pounds of copper wire and 25 pounds of the plastic insulation. Stripped copper wire pays around a $1.90 per pound. Insulated wire taken to a recycling center as it is pays about $1.30 per pound. At those prices you get $130 for your insulated copper wire and $142 for the wire you stripped yourself. The difference is about $12.50, so does it make sense to strip the wire yourself? You decide.

Types of Wire for Recycling

Thinking about why are recycling? Here are a few of the different types of wires listed in order of the highest paying.

1. Bare Bright Copper Wire is that which is not corroded or burne. It must be shiny in appearance. No contamination allowed and it must be thicker than 10 gauge. We’re talking around $3 or more per pound.       

 2) #1 Insulated Wire – this is copper wire that is 14 gauge or thicker. It has to have a copper recovery of 75% or higher. $2-3 range

3) #2 Insulated Wire is smaller than 16 gauge (about 1/16 inch) and needs a copper recovery of 55% – 79%. The copper wire may have a coating of nickel or tin. Pays about 60 cents to $1.60 per pound.

 4) Communication Wire – this is used in different electronic systems like mobile networking and telephones , cable TV, etc. It will pay from $1 to about $1.30 per pound.

Check out our scrap metal prices page for more info or call us at TM Scrap Metals for up-to-the-minute information.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

A scrap metal recycling business isn’t something you often associate with happiness (although it should be!) but what we do here in our corner of Los Angeles should be cause for some celebration. What we mean by this is that you can feel good about recycling your scrap metal with us for many reasons.

Aside from the prices we pay for scrap metal (which translates into cash in your pocket) there are more altruistic reasons to feel good about bringing your scrap to TM Scrap Metals. We’ve touched on some of those aspects in earlier posts and many are listed by other recycling organizations such as wheelsforwishes.org but they always bear repeating since who knows which article someone will happen upon when looking for scrap metal recycling in Los Angeles.

The three main reasons to recycle are that metals can be reused (melted down again and again) without any degradation. A recycled metal is just as good as one newly-dug-up from the earth. Second, it costs far less to recycle a metal than to mine it. Third, by recycling scrap metal, the need to mine those metals decreases. We should add (and have done so earlier) that recycling metals delays using up valuable landfill space.

Recycling Metal in Los Angeles

Los Angeles recycling centers perform the same service as other private scrap metal yards around the country so really the only decision you have to make is to decide how convenient your metal recycler is to you. In Burbank our recycling center is just a few minutes’ drive. We’re also convenient to other San Fernando Valley cities. But with TM Scrap Metals distance really isn’t a factor because we offer mobile recycling. That’s correct, we come to you! If you have scrap metal you want to recycle for cash you need only call us to schedule a pick up. That means we’re you Burbank recycling center, your Glendale recycling center, Van Nuys recycling center and really your whole San Fernando Valley recycling center. With mobile scrap metal recycling we make feeling good about yourself even easier.

Recycling really is an occasion to celebrate. We at TM Scrap Metals can help you feel good about the environment as well as your wallet. Call us today at 818-771-5010.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

Scrap metal recycling in Los Angeles is an odd thing to write about as having stars. We’re using the term stars here as in movie stars. Then again, being in Southern California and so close to Hollywood perhaps we can indeed use the term. Scrap metal recycling is not the most glamorous thing you could imagine but even this industry has its top performers and one of those is brass.

You may not give much thought to brass but it’s one of the more higher-paying scrap metals for a number of reasons. First and foremost, brass is not as readily available some other metals such as aluminum, copper or even stainless steel. One other reason is that it’s more cost-effective to recycle scrap brass then it is to create brass anew. If you recall your high school chemistry, brass is a combination basically of copper and zinc melted together. Other elements may be added to this to give brass extra strength but at its most basic it is combination of zinc and copper. You can see how it’s easier to melt down a batch of scrap brass and repurpose it.

For those would-be scrappers who want to get top dollar for their scrap metals, brass is often good idea. You may have to hunt for sources of brass but you can find it in places like light fixtures, handrails, locking mechanisms and bolts. The whole process of making something from scrap metals is quite interesting and that’s why we include this video of brass being created at a foundry from scrap copper with some zinc added.

If you’re looking for the Best Price on brass recycling in the Los Angeles or San Fernando Valley area, contact us here at TM Scrap Metals, your Burbank scrap metal recycling center.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com

Scrap metal recycling centers use various tools to determine what kind of metals have been delivered to them. One of the most basic tools is a magnet. A magnet can be used to determine whether the metal is ferrous or nonferrous.

Ferris metals include things like iron or steel. These are very plentiful metals and as such they’re not going to bring the same price at a scrap metal recycling center that nonferrous metals would. Examples of nonferrous metals are copper or aluminum. Metals like this bring higher prices for a number of reasons including the fact that they are more conductive to electricity, are corrosion resistant and are lighter than metals like steel or iron.

A Los Angeles scrap metal recycling center will use other tools determine what types of metal are being delivered to them, and some of these tools are quite sophisticated. For you, the seller of scrap metal, it may be advantageous to separate some of the scrap metals you have on hand before bringing them to the scrap metal recycling center near you. At the most basic level you can at least see what type of metal you have on hand with the help of a magnet. The magnet need not be expensive or sophisticated. Any old refrigerator magnet is going to stick to a ferrous metal like steel, but slide off nonferrous metal like copper or aluminum.

If you’re interested in how a scrap metal dealer determines what type of metals he’s dealing with you can check out this article on vericheck.net which goes into some greater detail.  Just be aware, however, that some metals such as the nonferrous metals copper, brass, aluminum, etc. are going to have a higher value then steel or iron. Also, the price of the metal will vary from day to day so be sure to check out TM Scrap Metals’ metal pricing page to see what the latest approximate price per pound or ton of any particular metal is.

If you’re looking for a Burbank area scrap metal recycling center for your LA scrap needs, look no further than TM Scrap Metals.

http://www.tmscrapmetals.com

Copper recycling in Los Angeles has gotten a lot of attention in recent years due to the fact that copper is one of the higher-paying scrap metals. Indeed we got to the point where people were actually stealing copper pipes to be able to take them to a scrap metal recycling company in exchange for cash. It’s disheartening to think what some people will stoop to in trying to make money, but for the rest of us who are engaged in a legitimate scrap metal recycling, copper can be particularly lucrative if the amount you’re looking to recycle is large enough.

With that said you’re going to find different prices for different types of copper. Why is this? The answer is obvious if you look at things such as copper tubes and compare them to copper wire, especially wire that’s been coated. The copper wire beneath the coating is harder to get at and costs more to extract then just the naked copper tubing. That’s why the price for coated copper wire will be less than that for copper tubing.

There are a variety of websites, including TM Scrap Metals in the Los Angeles California area, that will allow you to see the current price per pound or ton of various metals. There’s an interesting and informative website called iScrapApp which shows current metal prices, and taking a look at today’s prices for copper we can see that copper tubing pays about $2.50 per pound. Compare that to the price for insulated copper wire and you see that the copper wire pays significantly less. Less than one dollar per pound.

Los Angeles Scrap Metal Pricing

Whatever the going rate for a metal, be it copper, brass or some other metal you’re going to want to find the closest (and most reputable) recycling facility to whom you can sell this metal. Physical proximity is important especially when we’re dealing with metals by the hundreds of pounds or tons. You’re not going to want to drive and to the actual city of Los Angeles to recycle your scrap metal if you’re located in the San Fernando Valley. If you have a truckload of a particular metal– in this case copper—it makes sense costwise to recycle locally and the Burbank / Sun Valley area is central to many San Fernando Valley locations. For example, it’s a short drive from Van Nuys or Studio City to TM Scrap Metals in Burbank. For large amounts of scrap copper,  you have to factor in drive time and gas or diesel prices when determining how much you will actually get by recycling your scrap copper. Keep in mind that TM Scrap Metals also has a mobile recycling service so no matter where you are, we can come to you!

If you’re looking for the best deal in scrap metal recycling we invite you to visit us at TM Scrap Metals and discover the difference experience makes.

https://www.tmscrapmetals.com