Scrap lead: where it comes from and how to handle it safely
Lead is dense, soft and easy to recycle, which is why scrap lead always has a buyer. It is also toxic, which makes it the one metal on this site where the handling rules matter as much as the rate you are paid.
Scrap lead: key facts
| Main sources | Roof flashing and sheet, old pipe, cable sheathing, wheel weights, batteries |
|---|---|
| Lead-acid batteries | Hazardous waste, code 16 06 01* |
| Battery recycling target | 65% by average weight, with lead recovered to the highest degree technically feasible |
| Workplace exposure limit | 0.15 mg/m³ for lead other than lead alkyls, as an 8 hour average |
| Blood-lead suspension level | 60 µg/100ml for most workers; 30 for women of reproductive capacity; 50 for under 18s |
| Magnetic | No. Lead is non ferrous |
Where scrap lead comes from
Roofing is a major source in the UK: flashing, valley gutters, hips and bay roofs, most of it coming off during re-roofing. Beyond that, old water pipe taken out during a replumb, lead sheathed cable, wheel balance weights, printers' type and radiation shielding from medical or laboratory refits.
Lead is soft and dense enough that a small volume is a surprising weight, which is both why it is worth collecting and why it is worth securing. Roof lead theft is a recognised problem, and a yard will ask you to prove who you are before paying you. That is required by law, and it protects legitimate sellers.
Batteries are a different thing entirely
A lead-acid vehicle battery is not simply a lump of lead. It is classified as hazardous waste under code 16 06 01*, where the asterisk denotes hazardous status, and it cannot be handled as ordinary scrap. Environment Agency guidance requires storage in secure, leak-proof containers with an impermeable, acid resistant base, kept closed or under cover so rainwater cannot accumulate, not stored with other waste, and with records kept for two years.
There is a further wrinkle worth knowing. Some battery cases contain persistent organic pollutants in the plastic. Those batteries must go to a permitted incinerator or a metal smelter so the pollutants are destroyed, and must not go to ordinary storage, landfill or plastic recycling. If the plastic type is unknown and nobody has scanned it for bromine, the guidance says to assume it does contain them.
The practical upshot: take batteries to a site that is permitted for them. The battery recycling rules set a minimum recovery of 65% by average weight for lead-acid batteries, with the lead recovered to the highest degree technically feasible.
Handling lead at work
The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 apply to anyone whose work exposes them to lead, and "lead" there covers alloys, compounds and lead as a constituent of another material, where it can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed. The workplace exposure limit is 0.15 mg/m³ as an eight hour time weighted average, or 0.10 for lead alkyls.
Where exposure is significant, employers must put workers under medical surveillance. Blood-lead action levels are 50 µg/100ml for men and other workers, 25 for women of reproductive capacity and 40 for workers under 18, with suspension at 60, 30 and 50 respectively.
For a roofer stripping lead occasionally rather than working it, the sensible precautions are the obvious ones: gloves, no eating, drinking or smoking while handling it, wash before breaks, and do not burn, cut or grind it without proper extraction and respiratory protection. If you handle lead regularly as a business, check the current Health and Safety Executive position, since the exposure values have been under review.
Selling it
Separate the clean sheet and pipe from anything mixed, keep batteries entirely apart, and take photo identification and proof of address, since a licensed dealer must verify both before paying you. Payment is by bank transfer or non transferable cheque; cash for scrap metal is an offence.
Our lead scrap price page carries the current UK figure, and the directory finds yards that buy lead by postcode.
Frequently asked questions
Can I weigh in a car battery as scrap lead?
Not as ordinary scrap. Lead-acid batteries are hazardous waste under code 16 06 01* and must go to a site permitted to take them, stored in leak-proof acid resistant containers in the meantime.
Where does most UK scrap lead come from?
Roofing is the biggest source: flashing, valley gutters and bay roofs coming off during re-roofing. Old water pipe, lead sheathed cable, wheel weights and radiation shielding make up much of the rest.
Is handling scrap lead dangerous?
It needs care. The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 set a workplace exposure limit of 0.15 mg/m³ as an eight hour average. Gloves, no eating or smoking while handling it, washing before breaks, and no burning or grinding without extraction are the basics.
Why does the yard want my ID for lead?
Because a licensed scrap metal dealer must verify the name and address of anyone it pays. Roof lead theft is a known problem, and the check protects legitimate sellers.
What happens to a recycled lead-acid battery?
It goes to a metal smelter for lead recovery, with a minimum recycling efficiency of 65% by average weight. Once the ABS is separated out, the polypropylene case fraction can be recycled too.
Sources
- Storing lead-acid batteries, cable and gas cylinders at HWRCs: RPS 308, Environment Agency
- Manage waste lead-acid batteries containing POPs, GOV.UK
- Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002, regulation 2
- Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, Schedule 4
- Exposure to lead in Great Britain, HSE statistics