Aluminium grades: how scrap aluminium is sorted and graded
Scrap aluminium is not one material. Extrusion, sheet, litho plate, castings and drinks cans are separate grades with separate rates, and knowing which you have is the difference between a good offer and a poor one.
Aluminium grades: key facts
| Energy saving against primary | Primary production takes 186 GJ per tonne; recycled takes 8.3 GJ, a saving of about 95% |
|---|---|
| Recycled content in European products | Around 50% of the aluminium used across Europe is recycled input |
| Still in use | About 75% of all aluminium ever produced is estimated to still be in service |
| UK aluminium packaging recycling rate | 65.9% in 2024 (final), 61.1% in 2025 (provisional) |
| Magnetic | No. A hand magnet will not stick to aluminium |
| Payment | Bank transfer or non transferable cheque. Cash is an offence |
Why scrap aluminium is worth money
Smelting aluminium from bauxite is one of the most energy intensive industrial processes there is. The International Aluminium Institute puts primary production at 186 gigajoules per tonne against 8.3 gigajoules for recycled metal, which is a saving of roughly 95%. That gap is the whole reason a scrap yard will pay you for a bin of old window frames: remelting them is dramatically cheaper than making the metal again.
It also explains why the price moves. When energy costs rise, primary metal gets dearer and scrap follows it up.
Aluminium grades, in plain terms
Aluminium is not one material commercially. UK yards buy it in separate grades, and the trade uses a set of code names from the ReMA scrap specifications that you will sometimes see on a ticket. The ones you are most likely to meet:
- Extrusion. Window and door frames, curtain walling, shop fitting sections. Clean and consistent, so it sits near the top. Trade grades include Tata for new production material and Tutu for dealer grade.
- Sheet. Old alloy sheet and clean mixed sheet, the grade called Taint or Tabor.
- Litho. Printing plates. Clean aluminium lithographic sheet, graded as Tablet or Tabloid, and consistently well paid.
- Cast. Gearbox casings, engine parts, cast fittings. A different alloy family, graded as Tense for mixed castings or Ginger when shredded.
- Used beverage cans. Their own grade entirely, baled, shredded or briquetted.
- Irony aluminium. Aluminium with steel still attached. The cheapest of the lot, because somebody has to separate it.
These are trade conventions rather than law, and every yard applies them with its own tolerances. Ask which grade your load is being bought as, and why.
What downgrades a load
Three things, in order of how often they cost people money. Attachments: steel screws, hinges, brackets and glazing rubber turn clean extrusion into irony aluminium. Mixing: cast and extrusion in one bin is bought as the cheaper of the two. Coatings and contamination: heavy paint, oil, insulation and plastic all have to be burnt off or stripped before melting.
Stripping the steel out of a frame before you weigh in is usually the best paid hour of work on the job.
Today's aluminium scrap price
Rates move monthly, so we keep them on one page rather than repeating them here. Our aluminium scrap price page carries the current UK figure, updated monthly, and The Waste Stock Calculator on the directory page turns a weight into a value at today's pricing. To find a yard that buys aluminium, search the directory by postcode and material.
Where the volume comes from
If you are looking for aluminium rather than disposing of it, five trades generate it consistently.
- Window and door fabricators, and installers doing replacements. Offcuts are clean extrusion, which is near the top of the price range.
- Printers, for litho plates, which are among the best paid aluminium grades and arrive consistently.
- Shop and office fit-out contractors, for curtain walling, partitioning and ceiling grid.
- The motor trade, for cast engine and gearbox components and alloy wheels.
- Hospitality and food service, for used beverage cans and foil in volume.
Each of those is a different grade and should be kept apart, because mixing them means the whole load is bought at the cheapest rate in it.
Preparing a load properly
- Take the steel out. Screws, hinges, brackets and inserts turn clean extrusion into irony aluminium, and this is where most money is lost.
- Remove glass and rubber from window frames. Glazing units and gaskets are not aluminium and will not be paid for as such.
- Separate cast from extrusion. Different alloy families, different rates.
- Keep cans separate from everything else; they are their own grade.
- Drain and dry anything that held liquid. Weight of water is not weight of metal, and a yard will discount for it.
Why the rate moves
Primary aluminium is extraordinarily energy intensive, at 186 gigajoules per tonne against 8.3 for recycled metal. That makes the scrap price unusually sensitive to energy costs: when electricity gets dearer, primary metal gets dearer and scrap follows it up. It also means a quote from two months ago tells you little about today, so compare quotes taken in the same week.
For a fabricator or printer producing aluminium every week rather than occasionally, a standing arrangement is worth more than a good day rate, and our guide to scrap metal collection covers how those work.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main aluminium scrap grades?
Extrusion such as window frames, sheet, litho printing plates, castings, used drinks cans, and irony aluminium, which still has steel attached. Clean extrusion and litho sit near the top; irony aluminium is the cheapest because someone has to take the steel out.
Is aluminium magnetic?
No. A hand magnet will not stick to it, which is the quickest way to separate aluminium from steel in a mixed load.
Why is my aluminium being bought as irony aluminium?
Because steel is still attached: screws, hinges, brackets or inserts. Removing them before you weigh in usually pays for the time it takes.
Does recycling aluminium really save 95% of the energy?
The International Aluminium Institute puts primary production at 186 gigajoules per tonne against 8.3 gigajoules for recycled metal, which is a saving of about 95%.
Can a yard pay me cash for aluminium?
No. Cash payment for scrap metal is an offence in England and Wales under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, and equivalent rules apply in Scotland. Payment is by bank transfer or non transferable cheque.
Sources
- Aluminium recycling saves 95% of the energy needed for primary production, International Aluminium Institute
- 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today, International Aluminium Institute
- UK statistics on waste, DEFRA, published 23 September 2026
- ReMA scrap specifications, aluminium grades
- Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, section 12, on payment