Monthly Archives: October, 2026

1. 

   Your End-of-Year Metal Cleanout — How Dallas Businesses Can Turn Q4 Scrap Into Cash

   October 23rd, 2026 by SEO DOGS | Posted in Metal Recycling, Scrap Metal | No Comments

   It’s that time of year again for many commercial and industrial business managers to take stock of equipment and scrap lying around. Whether it’s copper pipe from plumbing jobs or an old HVAC chiller that you no longer use. Metal offcuts and unwanted equipment can be cleaned out and turned into cash at year-end. An end-of-year metal cleanout helps you clear space and boost your balance sheet before the year is over. With a trusted DFW scrap metal recycling company, you can place containers on your job site or facility and get the best price for your ferrous and nonferrous metals.

   Why You Should Do an End-of-Year Metal Cleanout

   An end-of-year metal cleanout can help you clear out space on your job site or facility. It can also add extra cash to your books for the fourth quarter. When you recycle your scrap metal at the end of the year, you can write it off on your taxes or gain revenue.

   As businesses approach year-end, they often find themselves short on space. Metal offcuts or scrap lying around can take up valuable square footage on your job site or in your facility. Whether it’s beam offcuts from a fabrication job or scrap wire from your plumbing work. You can clear these items out with a facility sweep and turn them into cash.

   Not only can you gain space and cash from an end-of-year metal cleanout, but you can also write it off on your taxes. If you have a large amount of scrap you no longer need, you can sell it and boost your fourth-quarter profits.

   How To Sort Your Industrial Metal For More Money

   By sorting your industrial metal, you can maximize your Q4 scrap revenue. When you have high-grade nonferrous metals sitting with lower-grade ferrous metals, you won’t get the best price. Separate your metals to get the highest price possible.

   If you mix your non-ferrous metals with your steel, you are going to lose money. Most scrap yards will weigh your load and price it based on what’s in that bin. So, by separating your metals on your job site or at your facility, you can earn more.

   By using bins or color coding your metals, you can easily maximize your q4 scrap revenue. Have your employees strip insulation off of copper wire, separate your brass from your iron pipe and put your stainless in a separate bin.

   Metal Types

    

   Metal	Used In	Grade	Price Range
   Bare Bright Copper	Wire, Pipe	Nonferrous	High
   Brass	Plumbing, Fixtures	Nonferrous	High
   Aluminum	Window, Frames	Nonferrous	Medium
   Stainless Steel	Commercial	Nonferrous	Medium
   Steel	Structural	Ferrous	Low

   How to Schedule a Commercial Scrap Cleanup in Dallas

   When you are looking to schedule a commercial scrap cleanup in Dallas, start by taking inventory of what you have on hand. Once you know what you need to get rid of, you can place the proper containers on your site. This lets you haul off scrap without stopping production at your job site or facility.

   There are many things to consider when you are doing a facility sweep. First, take inventory of all areas that may have metal lying around. Once you have done this, you can begin sorting and staging your metal for removal.

   Facility Sweep 

   1. Take inventory of all job sites and areas that may have metal.
   2. Separate your metal into ferrous and non-ferrous.
   3. Remove any contaminants from your metals. 
   4. Place containers on your site or facility. 
   5. Have your metal hauled off and paid for on the same day.

   What Are the Benefits of a Dallas Industrial Metal Recycling Program?

   When you do an industrial metal recycling Dallas program, you can stay compliant with your local laws. You can also keep your job site safe and clear of any hazards. Recycling your metal is also a great way to show that your company cares about the environment.

   Having metal on your job site or facility can create many hazards. Metal can have sharp edges and, if not stored properly, can cause injuries. By removing unwanted metal from your facility, you are decreasing the risk of injury to your employees.

   Many laws require you to dispose of your waste properly. By recycling your metal, you are keeping it out of our landfills and helping the environment. You can also use this as a selling point to your customers that your company is environmentally friendly.

   Tip: Magnet Test

   Keep a magnet on you while you sweep your facility. If the magnet sticks to the metal, then it is ferrous. If it does not stick, then you have a non-ferrous metal. Keep your non-ferrous metals in a secure location so they don’t get stolen.

   How Can I Make My Job Site More Efficient?

   By having containers on your job site, you can increase efficiency. You will not have to spend time hauling your scrap off site and can continue working. When you have a company that offers container services, you can have them dropped off and picked up when they are full.

   If you don’t have containers on your job site, you are going to have to haul your scrap off site. This can take up valuable time and money. By having containers on site, you can just throw your scrap in and continue working.

   When you have a company that offers flexible pickup, you can have your containers swapped out when they are full. This helps keep your job site clean and safe. Our trucks can haul anything from small amounts of metal to large pieces of equipment.

   Action Metals Can Help With Your End-of-Year Metal Cleanout

   If you are looking to clean out your job site or facility at the end of the year. Action Metals can help you with all of your scrap metal needs. We offer container services for large industrial facilities and have a drive-through drop-off for all of your commercial needs. Reach out to Action Metals today or stop by our yard in Dallas to learn more about our services.

   FAQ 

   What metals do you accept? 

   We accept all ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This includes steel, iron, copper, copper wire, brass, aluminum, stainless steel and radiators, to name a few.

   How do your container services work? 

   We will drop off a container on your job site or facility. You can fill the container with your scrap metal, and we will come and haul it off. We will weigh your load and pay you on the spot.

   Why should I separate my metals? 

   When you separate your metals, you are able to receive more money. Nonferrous metals are worth more per pound than ferrous metals. So by separating them, you can increase your profit.

2. 

   Insulated Wire Recycling — Get More Per Pound for Your Copper Wire

   October 10th, 2026 by SEO DOGS | Posted in Copper Metal Recycling | No Comments

   Commercial properties throughout Dallas produce tons of electrical wire when stripping out or tearing down a building. Electricians and mechanical contractors often come across this wire and have to decide whether to strip it or sell it as-is. Many factors go into insulated wire recycling, and we’ll break them down below.

   Should I Strip Copper Wire for Scrap? 

   Yes, stripping copper wire will get you a higher price per pound, but only if the price difference is worth the labor. Larger wires such as 250 MCM and up are worth stripping. Smaller wires like Romex or Ethernet cables take too long to strip and are not worth the labor cost.

   As an electrician, you know that labor is your highest cost. Having an apprentice strip wire by hand at a low recovery rate will cost you more than you make on the scale. Some wires are worth stripping, and some you should just sell insulated.

   Recovery rate will play a big role in whether you should strip wire or sell it insulated. Recovery rate is the amount of solid metal you get from a wire once you remove the insulation. Wires that have a high recovery rate can give you 80% metal or more. These are wires you want to strip and sell. If a wire has a low recovery rate of 10-30%, you will not want to strip that wire.

   How to Calculate the Price of Stripping Copper Wire

   Take the weight of your wire and multiply it by the price of insulated wire. Then take the weight of copper you will receive and multiply it by the price of bare bright copper.

   If you have 100 lbs of copper wire and know it has a 70% metal recovery rate. You would sell that wire as insulated and receive 100 x $2.20 = $220. If you stripped that wire, you would have 70 lbs of bare bright copper. 70 x $4.00 = $280. 

   If it took your apprentice 20 minutes to strip that wire, you would subtract $10 (20 minutes @ $30/hr), and your net payout would be $270. As you can see, stripping the wire made you $50 more. If you were to strip 100 lbs of Cat-5 Ethernet cable, it has a recovery rate of 25%. You would spend hours stripping wire to receive 25 lbs of thin copper wire and lose money on the scale.

    

   Wire Type	Metal Recovery Rate	Sell As	Should I Strip?
   500 MCM Power Cable	75% – 85%	Bare Bright Copper	Yes
   THHN Wire 10 AWG	60% – 70%	Bare Bright or #1	Yes
   Romex Wire 12/2	50% – 55%	#2 Wire	No
   Cat-5/Cat-6 Wire	25% – 35%	High-Grade Data Wire	No
   Appliance & Extension Cords	15% – 20%	Low-Grade Wire	No

   Why Do Copper Wire Scrap Prices Vary?

   Many factors cause copper wire scrap prices to vary day to day. The global copper price on the COMEX will have the biggest impact on your scrap price. Other factors that affect copper wire prices include supply and demand, your copper grade and the wire’s recovery rate.

   Bare bright copper will always be the highest grade of copper you can sell. Here are some examples of what each grade of copper wire is:

   1. Bare Bright Copper is not coated or insulated and is 16 gauge or larger. No paint, solder or oxidation. 
   2. Number 1 Copper Wire is clean copper pipe, wire or tubing that may have some oxidation. No solder, insulation or brass. 
   3. Number 2 Copper Wire or pipe may have solder, paint or oxidation. Can contain smaller gauge wire that is hair-thin.
   4. High-grade wire is cable with 70% or more bare copper by total weight.
   5. Low-grade wire is coated with a lot of plastic or rubber, like Christmas lights or small-gauge wires.

   What is a Wire Chopper?

   A wire chopper cuts your wire into small pieces. These pieces will then be run over air tables to separate the plastic from the copper. Once the copper has been separated, it can be sold to mills as copper chops.

   Recycling companies that process large amounts of wire use wire choppers. If you are an electrician or demolition company that produces thousands of pounds of wire a month, you will not want to strip all of that wire by hand.

   Wire choppers first cut the wire into small pieces. The wire is then run over air tables that separate the copper from the plastic. Once the copper is separated, mills can buy it.

   What are Copper Chops?

   Copper chops are pieces of copper processed through a wire chopper. They are clean copper that mills can buy without further processing. Mills will pay more for copper chops because they can melt them down faster.

   When recycling companies process wire through their choppers, they are left with small pieces of copper. These pieces of copper are called copper chops. Because they are clean copper with no plastic or other metals attached, mills will pay a higher price for them.

   By selling your wire to a recycling company with a chopper, you can get a higher price. You will also save time by not having to strip the wire yourself.

   Quick Tip | Do You Need a Stripper?

   If you are stripping a lot of 2/0 or 4/0 wire, consider purchasing a wire stripper. You can buy these for around $100, and they will strip wire 500% faster than doing it by hand.

   Sort Your Wire to Get More Money 

   When you mix different types of wire, you’ll be paid the lowest price in your bin. Sort your wire on site to receive the highest price possible.

   Here are some tips to help you sort your wire on site:

   • Have separate bins for each type of wire you produce.
   • Remove any brass or iron from your wire before placing it in your bins.
   • Keep your wire dry and out of the elements.
   • Have your wire picked up regularly once your bins are full.

   Action Metals | Dallas Copper Wire Recycling

   If you are looking to sell copper wire in Dallas, TX, Action Metals is your one-stop shop. We offer the best prices on copper wire and will pay you on the spot. Whether you have a truck full of stripped wire or need an on-site roll-off container, we have you covered.

   We can process your wire on site with our wire chopper. That’s what lets us offer you the best price on your wire. Reach out or stop by our Dallas location for a quote.

   FAQ 

   Do I need to strip my wire before selling it?

   Only if you have large-gauge wire that will give you a higher price when stripped. Smaller wires like Romex or Ethernet are not worth stripping.

   What is the difference between bare bright copper price and insulated wire?

   Bare bright copper is the highest grade of copper you can sell. Insulated wire is lower in price because you are selling the wire with plastic on it.

   How does a wire chopper work?

   A wire chopper cuts your wire into small pieces and separates the copper from the plastic. This allows us to sell your wire at a higher price.