Wire Recovered from a Single House being Torn Down

[Recyclersteve]

I was in an area with a house being torn down (everything except the bare walls) and rebuilt. I looked on Zillow and found that the home is approximately 4,500 sqft., so a larger home.

The dumpster at the site was wide open on a Friday afternoon. I asked permission and was told to feel free to take what I wanted.

This is what I found. NONE of the wire inside was the cheap softer wire. It was all stiff copper (80%) type and bare bright copper- lots of ROMEX where I removed the bare bright. Also, there was a bit of aluminum (very stiff and thick) wire.

Note that I just went to the scrap yard two days earlier, so I feel I've got accurate prices below.

Bare bright copper wire: 4.5# @ $3.22 = $14.49
80% copper wire: 15.4# @ $2.54 = $39.12
Aluminum (stiff) wire: 2.4# @ $0.30 = $0.72
TOTAL FOR 22.3# OF WIRE: $54.33

This is much more than I thought I'd get from a single house. And, when I was stripping the wire at home I kept busy by watching TV or listening to the radio. So it wasn't wasted time. This was FUN and reasonably profitable as well.

[ScrapMetal]

No copper plumbing? Items from older homes are sometimes in demand. If it was a nicer home sometimes even door knobs are desirable. Anyways, a small victory in salvaging the metals. I love dumpster diving when they are doing renovations. I do woodworking, so the scraps of wood are always welcome. The only problem is my wife who always has a comment or two on what I try and bring home.

[Dr. Cadmium]

Nice haul, Steve! It never hurts to ask permission. FYI clean aluminum wire sells for a premium over most types of aluminum at many yards, but I don't usually strip mine.

ScrapMetal I find that copper plumbing is rarely thrown in a dumpster. Wire slips through the cracks a lot more often, because many people see it as too much work or don't know it can be cashed in with the insulation still intact. Some really old houses in my area use brass pipe for plumbing! It's very thick and the weight adds up quickly.

[Recyclersteve]

You’ve got me curious about the piping. I may swing back by when I get a chance. Maybe they just didn’t get to that part of the teardown. Or perhaps it was buried under something else in the dumpster.

[Recyclersteve]

Nice haul, Steve! It never hurts to ask permission. FYI clean aluminum wire sells for a premium over most types of aluminum at many yards, but I don't usually strip mine.

ScrapMetal I find that copper plumbing is rarely thrown in a dumpster. Wire slips through the cracks a lot more often, because many people see it as too much work or don't know it can be cashed in with the insulation still intact. Some really old houses in my area use brass pipe for plumbing! It's very thick and the weight adds up quickly.

Why is it that piping is rarely thrown out?

[Dr. Cadmium]

Why is it that piping is rarely thrown out?

Because everyone knows it's worth money. Even people that don't scrap know that copper pipe is worth something. I rarely see it out in the wild.

[Recyclersteve]

Why is it that piping is rarely thrown out?

Because everyone knows it's worth money. Even people that don't scrap know that copper pipe is worth something. I rarely see it out in the wild.

Interesting! I did swing back by the same dumpster 8 days later and found a TINY bit more copper wire, but no piping. Dr. Cadmium, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you a bit.