Scrap metal collection in the UK: who collects it and what you get paid
Scrap metal collection is the business of picking up waste metal from a home, a site or a business yard and taking it to a licensed dealer. In England and Wales anyone doing it for a living needs two separate permissions, and since 2013 none of them may pay you in cash. This guide covers who may collect, what a load is worth and how to check a collector before you let them take anything.
Scrap metal collection: key facts
| Who may collect | A licensed scrap metal dealer. A mobile collector needs a collector's licence from each council whose area they work in |
|---|---|
| Who issues the licence | The local council, not a national regulator. A licence lasts 3 years |
| Where the law applies | England and Wales, under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. Scotland licenses metal dealers separately. Northern Ireland sits outside the Act |
| Payment | Cash is banned. A dealer may pay only by non transferable cheque or bank transfer |
| Identification | The dealer must check the seller's name and address against prescribed documents before paying |
| Second permission | Upper tier waste carrier registration with the Environment Agency: £191.02 in England, renewed every 3 years |
| Paperwork | A waste transfer note for each load from a business, kept 2 years. The dealer keeps its own records 3 years |
| Scale | The UK recycled 536,000 tonnes of metal packaging in 2024, a rate of 78.7%, according to Defra |
How does scrap metal collection work?
A scrap metal collection usually runs in four steps. You describe what you have and roughly how much of it there is. The collector quotes a price per tonne, or offers to take it for nothing if the load is small or mixed. The metal is weighed, either on the vehicle or at the yard. You are paid by bank transfer, and you receive paperwork covering the transfer.
Weight is the thing to watch. If the metal is weighed at the yard rather than in front of you, ask for the weighbridge ticket. A public weighbridge operator must hold a certificate of competence and must give a written statement of the weight found, with the date, time and vehicle details recorded and kept for at least two years. That ticket is your evidence of what went across the scales.
What happens to the metal afterwards is covered in our guide to metal recycling, which explains how scrap is sorted, melted and sold on.
Is scrap metal collection free?
It depends what you have. Collectors earn from the metal itself, so a clean load of a valuable metal is usually collected free and paid for on top. A small, mixed or dirty load can cost more to collect and sort than the metal is worth, so the collection may be free with no payment, or carry a charge.
Three things push a load towards being paid for rather than merely taken away: a single metal rather than a mixture, enough of it to fill a vehicle, and easy access for loading. Copper, brass and aluminium are worth considerably more per tonne than mixed steel, so separating what you have before you call is usually worth the effort.
What a scrap metal collection is worth
Scrap is traded by weight, and the price moves every month with the metals market. A collector pays you below the market figure, because the gap covers the vehicle, the labour, the sorting and their margin.
We publish the current UK figures, worked out from HMRC export data, on our scrap metal prices page. The Waste Stock Calculator on our directory page will work out what a given weight is worth at this month's prices, which is a useful check before you accept an offer.
The law on scrap metal collection
Two permissions are needed, and they are often mistaken for one another.
- A scrap metal dealer's licence from the council. A site licence covers named premises. A collector's licence covers a mobile collector and only covers the area of the council that issued it, so a collector working across several boroughs needs a licence from each. A collector's licence must be displayed on the vehicle so it can be read from outside.
- Upper tier waste carrier registration with the Environment Agency, because a collector moves waste produced by somebody else. English registrations begin with the letters CBDU and can be checked on the Environment Agency's public register.
Trading without a licence is an offence, and the fine has been unlimited for anything committed since March 2015. The ban on cash is the part most people notice: a dealer may pay only by non transferable cheque or electronic transfer, and the ban binds the dealer, the site manager and whoever hands over the money. A collector who offers you notes is breaking the law, which tells you something about the rest of their paperwork.
In Scotland, metal dealers and itinerant metal dealers are licensed under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 as amended, with its own cash ban in force since September 2016. Northern Ireland sits outside the 2013 Act.
Scrap metal collection near me
Our directory lists UK companies that collect or buy recyclable materials, and you can search it by postcode and by material. Each company has a page with its registered details, a map, and a website and phone number where we have found them. Companies holding a scrap metal dealer's licence are marked, because that licence comes from a public register we can check. If you would rather take the metal in yourself, our guide to finding a scrap yard near me covers what yards buy and what to take with you.
Related guides
- Is copper magnetic?: the magnet test, and its limits
- Aluminium grades: how scrap aluminium is sorted and graded
- Is brass magnetic?: identifying and grading scrap brass
- 304 vs 316 stainless: telling the two grades apart
- Scrap lead: sources, batteries and safe handling
- Construction waste disposal: segregation, tax and site exemptions
- Skip hire prices: what actually sets the figure
Frequently asked questions
Is scrap metal collection free?
Often, yes, and a worthwhile load will be paid for as well. Collectors earn from the metal, so a clean, single metal load in reasonable quantity is normally collected at no charge. A small or heavily mixed load may be free to remove but earn you nothing, or carry a charge.
Can a scrap metal collector pay me in cash?
No. In England and Wales the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 allows payment only by non transferable cheque or electronic transfer of funds. Scotland has had an equivalent ban since September 2016. A collector offering cash is committing an offence.
How do I check a scrap metal collection company is licensed?
Ask for the licence and the waste carrier registration number, then check both. Scrap metal dealer licences are held by the council that issued them, and waste carrier registrations are on the Environment Agency's public register, where English upper tier numbers begin CBDU.
Do I need a licence to have my scrap metal collected?
No, but you do have a duty to hand waste only to someone authorised to take it. For household waste a council can issue a fixed penalty if you fail to take reasonable steps to check, normally £200, within a range of £150 to £600. A business must also complete a waste transfer note for each load.
What paperwork should I get after a scrap metal collection?
From a business collection, a waste transfer note describing the load, naming both parties and carrying the carrier's registration number. Keep it for two years. If the metal was weighed at a yard, ask for the weighbridge ticket as well, so you can check the weight you were paid for against the weight recorded.
How much does scrap metal collection pay?
It depends on the metal and the month. Copper and brass are worth many times more per tonne than mixed steel, and prices move with the metals market, so work from the current figure on our scrap metal prices page rather than a number you were quoted last year.
Sources
- Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, sections 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15, and Schedule 1
- Register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer, GOV.UK, accessed October 2026
- Waste duty of care code of practice, Defra and the Environment Agency, updated November 2018
- UK statistics on waste, Defra, 2024 data published September 2026
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, section 20, on public weighbridge records