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Scrap aluminium prices

Aluminium is light, so it takes real volume to build weight — but clean grades like extrusion and litho are worth sorting properly. These are today’s live per-kilo rates across every aluminium grade traded on ScrapBays.

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Aluminium scrap prices by grade

All 21 Aluminium grades, highest first.

Scrap aluminium prices per kilo
GradePrice per kgChange
Ali copper radiators (No iron)£3.69▲ +0.64%
Clean Aluminium rads£3.69▲ +0.64%
Litho sheets (Baled or loose)£1.91▲ +0.64%
Clean H9£1.88▲ +0.64%
Quadrant£1.88▲ +0.64%
Pure Ali wire£1.88▲ +0.64%
Dry Ali wire£1.88▲ +0.64%
Mixed H9£1.86▲ +0.64%
Painted H9£1.84▲ +0.64%
Clean alloy wheels£1.59▲ +0.64%
Thermal Break£1.42▲ +0.64%
Clean & poly backed cuts£1.27▲ +0.64%
Aluminium cuts (baled or loose)£1.27▲ +0.64%
Irony alloy wheels£1.19▲ +0.64%
Clean cast aluminium£1.09▲ +0.64%
Clean Rolled Ali max 1-2% contamination£0.99▲ +0.64%
Old rolled aluminium (No ali rads or cans)£0.99▲ +0.64%
Mixed Rolled Ali 5-7% contamination£0.84▲ +0.64%
Aluminium Turnings£0.56▲ +0.64%
Irony aluminium£0.29▲ +0.64%
Auto irony aluminium£0.25▲ +0.64%

What moves the aluminium price

Aluminium scrap follows the LME aluminium contract, though less tightly than copper does. A large share of scrap aluminium is remelted into casting alloys rather than refined back to primary metal, so secondary demand from foundries drives price as much as the exchange.

Energy costs matter unusually here. Primary aluminium smelting is enormously energy-intensive, so when power prices rise, recycled aluminium — which needs a fraction of the energy — becomes more attractive and scrap demand firms.

Alloy content sets the grade ladder. Clean single-alloy material like litho plate or extrusion can go straight back into a known product. Mixed or cast aluminium has unpredictable silicon and copper content and needs blending, so it is discounted.

Understanding aluminium grades

H9 is the UK extrusion grade — clean, unpainted aluminium profile from window and door sections with all rubber, plastic and steel removed. Clean H9 tops the grade; mixed and painted H9 sit below it, which is why stripping and sorting profile pays.

Litho sheet is printing plate: thin, clean, single-alloy material and consistently one of the better-paying grades.

Alloy wheels are graded on how clean they are. Clean alloy wheels, with the tyre, steel balance weights and valve removed, sit well above irony alloy wheels that still carry steel.

Cast aluminium covers engine parts, gearbox housings and pump bodies. Higher silicon content puts it below extrusion, but it is heavy and builds weight quickly.

Rolled aluminium is sheet and plate, priced on how much contamination it carries. Turnings are machining waste, discounted for oil and fines, and irony aluminium — anything still attached to steel — is the bottom of the table.

Getting a better price for your aluminium

  • Strip rubber seals, plastic trim and steel screws out of window frames. Clean H9 extrusion is a materially better grade than mixed or painted profile.
  • Take the tyres, balance weights and valves off alloy wheels before weighing in.
  • Keep cast separate from extrusion and rolled sheet. They are different grades at different prices.
  • Aluminium is light — collect a worthwhile quantity before making the trip, or the fuel cost eats the return.

Scrap aluminium price questions

Everything you need to know about the product and billing.

Aluminium is simply a cheaper metal — more abundant and less expensive to produce per tonne than copper. It is also about a third the density, so a given volume weighs far less. Both effects work against you on a per-kilo basis, which is why aluminium needs volume to be worth collecting.

They are recyclable and clean, but they weigh very little — roughly 15g each, so about 65 cans to a kilo. The metal value of a full bin bag is modest. Worth doing alongside other material, rarely worth a dedicated trip.

Clean, single-alloy material — litho sheet and clean H9 extrusion — consistently ranks near the top, because it can go back into production with minimal reprocessing. The live rates above show the current spread across all 21 aluminium grades.

Yes. Most buyers will not take wheels with tyres fitted, or will deduct heavily, because tyre disposal is a regulated cost. Remove the tyre, the steel balance weights and the valve and the wheel is graded as clean alloy wheels rather than irony — a significant difference per kilo.

Our aluminium prices are refreshed every trading day. Scrap prices track the underlying metal on the London Metal Exchange, which moves continuously, so a price quoted a week ago is rarely the price you will be paid today. Always check on the day you plan to sell.

The prices here are the rates buyers on ScrapBays are paying for clean, correctly sorted material. If your load is mixed, contaminated, still attached to other materials, or below a buyer's minimum weight, it will be graded down. Sorting and cleaning before you sell is the single biggest thing in your control.

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