bare bright
Bright and shiny stripped copper wire only. Tarnish, corrosion, any other material excludes it from this grade. VERY strict
#1 copper – stripped copper wire with no thinning. Bright and shiny wire can go with this but if separated is worth more.
#1 copper
#1 copper – clean pipe, wire, and bright and shiny new flashing. No glue, paint, solder, or any other material is permitted in any amount
#1 copper – corrosion is ok until is it so severe that you can’t tell if solder is present. In that case, it becomes #2 copper
#1 and #2
#2 copper – boiler coils once cut off from steel plate
# 2 copper
#2 copper – rubber gasket inside crimp makes this #2
#2 copper – copper with small amounts of other materials such as chrome, solder, paint, glue, but not steel
lite copper(sheet copper)
Lite/sheet copper – clean flashing (paint tar ok in very small amounts) copper pots, trays, copper lamps. No other materials. Look for and remove steel in rims of pots.
lite copper 
Lite copper – copper lamps – verify not brass by scratching. Yellow is brass, orange is copper. All steel, glass, and sockets need to be removed.
dirty lite – ice dam
Ice dam in any amount makes this dirty sheet copper. If you have a large piece with a small bit of ice dam it’s worth cutting the ice dam off.
dirty lite – wood
sheet copper/ copper flashing with other materials attached. Typically paid at 1/3 of clean sheet price
Bronze
Composition bronze – alloys with 85% copper or higher. Most DWV and cast sweat fittings, many valves if any brass or other material has been removed
Clean Brass
bronze and copper screens
are paid as brass because of their poor recovery ratio
Brass
Brass – copper pots with a steel rod around the rim or brass handle frames is paid brass price. Any porcelain would need to be removed to be paid as brass. If brass handle and steel rod are removed this would go in sheet copper with clean flashing
Mixed Brass
Brass of all types with small amounts of other materials. Remove handles and it is clean brass and a higher price.
Aluminum rads
aluminum radiators – as aluminum if clean. Worth about 1/4 of aluminum if plastic is still attached.
80% copper wire
THHN or any copper wire larger than 14ga and less than 5/8 inch diameter conductor with thin insulation. Wire with thick insulation or tinned will be a lower value grade
#2 wire
Thick rubber insulated wire. very often tinned so once stripped would be #2. Not typically worth stripping and the same price as data, telecom wire
data, tel, power cords
low % copper wire – thermostat, telephone, data, power cords, extension cords, larger diameter wire with very thick insulation, jumper cables, welding leads, dryer and tool power cords
Aluminum extrusions
Aluminum extrusions
worth about 25% more than aluminum. 6061 alloy is most common. shapes made through a die that can’t be made from folding.
Aluminum bx
Aluminum bx with copper wires inside. Check with magnet to verify not steel
clean lead – very small amounts of paint tar or silicone ok. Ice dam makes this worth close to zero.
Dirty Lead
Lead with any ice dam, shingles or large amounts of other materials. We will take dirty lead but will pay very little for it.
Silver plate
silver plated flatware, trays, bowls, etc. no steel. Keep knives separate. They are worth a lot less.
diecast and zinc. It can be recognized by white powdery corrosion and often has mold data stamped or molded into it.
