How Much Are Aluminum Cans Worth | Full Guide To A New Gold

Before 2014, I had a knack for taking any drink in a can, name it. I’ll drink almost anything, from Coca-Cola (sweet) to Schweppes (bitter for me, plus, not my favorite any day), just because it was in a can. Then one lucky day, grandpa Billy suddenly asked, “Who knows how much aluminum cans are worth?” My response was, “…no damn worth, Grandy.”

I was wrong! My grandpa Billy was one to ask questions with a worthwhile discovery lurking in his wise answers. He showed me how much I could have made from all the canned drinks I had consumed as far back as we all could remember. Thus, if you’re asking the same question Grandy asked me, you’re in the right place for a revealing answer.

I will not only show you how much aluminum cans are worth but also show you how you can make money from recycling aluminum cans. All you need to do is read through it meticulously.

How many aluminum cans do you need to make $100?

At a specified CRV value of $0.05/can, you’d need $100/$0.05=2000 cans to get $100. If you had the above by-weight price of $1.60 per pound, you’d need 62.5 pounds of cans to get you $100. At 31 cans per pound, you’d need 1938 cans.

How much money do you get for a pound of aluminum cans?

Globally, at Aluminum recycling centers and scrap yards, can rate are often within the same range.

Prices go up and down, but they are typically comparable across the globe at any given time. With about half an ounce of aluminum per can or 32 cans per pound, each can is worth about 1.7 cents.

Will scrap aluminum prices go up in 2023?

The prices of cans may crash in 2023.

As stated by market sources, the outlook for US aluminum scrap prices in 2020 appears gloomy, while the market in the United States remains plagued by oversupply.

In a Wednesday afternoon e-mail to Action 2 News, Festival Foods Buyer Merchandiser; Travis Tiedt writes, “When the pandemic hit, the volume of aluminum spiked, and the three major soft drink companies used a large amount of their 2020 forecast before May. All three companies have been experiencing aluminum shortages since early summer, which they expect to last into 2023.”

Tiedt says the grocery store chain has reduced the amount of advertising for cans during the shortage. “We still receive occasional shipments of some of the more popular flavors in cans. However, those are sporadic shipments, so shoppers may not always find their favorite flavors in can form.”

Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry has also felt the direct impact of the aluminum shortage.

Orders for those cans that typically take two days to fulfill now take up to five months.

What does this all mean for consumers? Shivaram says shoppers looking for items in aluminum cans can expect price increases the next time they head to the store.

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“The consumer will see an increase in the price of a soda and a can of beer because producers will try to pass that cost increase down to the consumer,” said Shivaram. “The worst case, unfortunately, is that it could be that consumers couldn’t get what they want. Certain products are sold only in cans.”

Shivaram hopes the shortage can lead to more significant investment in aluminum production in the United States.

Should I crush cans for recycling?

According to Matt Meenan, the senior director of public affairs at the Aluminum Association, crushed cans are more challenging to sort out and can contaminate other recyclable products when added to the recycling stream.

Why is Aluminum So Cheap?

Because of the lightweight and smaller price check, aluminum travels slower than the other more costly metals. It is the least expensive metal per pound compared to copper, lead, nickel, tin, and zinc. This is because it is the most common too.

Since you can use aluminum in all your cans, you can find it swiftly and practically everywhere. But it would help if you had a significant sum to get a ton of cash for the aluminum can. In addition, feel free to smash the cans ahead of time when trading to save space.

How much are Aluminum cans Worth; Contemporary Aluminum Can Worth

Presently, aluminum is about 81 cents per pound. Relying on the research results carried out in 2020, recycling centers often pay about 25% to 35% on the low end and 50% at best.

This entails that the pricing of aluminum is about 81 cents. Thus, your aluminum cans worth should be between 25% to 50% at this rate. Let’s do the mathematics;

  • At 25% of the Spot Price;
    • 81 x 0.25 = 20.25. Thus, a pound of aluminum cans should be worth about 20 cents.
  • At 50% of the Spot Price
    • 81 x 0.50 = 40.5. Therefore, a pound of aluminum cans should be worth about 40 to 41 cents.

Aluminum Can Price Formula

Forthwith, there’s a statistical way to approximately calculate how much you can get for your cans. An average can weigh about 14-15 grams or.03 pounds, but the average aluminum can weigh about 2.4 cents at 81 cents per pound. The price of aluminum cans varies, and it’s based on weight.

The formula for the price of aluminum cans:

(# of cans) x.03 x (price in the chart above, 81 cents would be .81)

Not precisely the Oscar revenue. However, don’t forget that this is more of a “passive” income idea that trickles money into your pocket gradually but consistently.

Solely a 12-ounce aluminum can weighs around half an ounce. This means that if you have a pack of 12 cans, it will weigh about 6 ounces of aluminum. It’s just over 4/10 of a pound, or in other words; you’ll get just over $0.29 for the 81 cents/pound 12 pack.

With this knowledge, you will need to start collecting hundreds, if not thousands, of cans to get something worthwhile (100 cans will contact you about $2.43 at 81 cents per pound).

Nevertheless, you will not get paid the actual aluminum selling rate. So these are just theoretical price tags. Here are some basic prices in the real market, though;

Aluminum Can Recycling Prices

As researched by the Wealth Artisan, Aluminum is trading for about 81 cents per pound as of 2020. The prices shown below are just examples of what to anticipate, as the market often varies.

The prices below are estimates that give you a good knowledge of price ranges in the aluminum market. At maximum, you should get about 50% of the current market price.

Aluminum Price in Arizona

Over in Phoenix, E-Z Money Recycling is paying 75 cents per pound for aluminum cans with CRV and 20 cents per pound without the CRV. In Tempe, Arizona-based I-Buy-Scrap is currently paying 60 cents per pound.

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Aluminum Prices in California

More specially, California has the California Redemption Value of 5 cents per can under 24 fluid ounces. See the “Bottle Deposits” section below for more states with a “bottle bill.”

Aluminum Price in Ohio

Ohio Computer Recycling quotes a price of 40 cents per pound. According to the Wealth ArtisanBerea Metals in Brook Park, Ohio, quotes 35 cents per pound, while CycleMET in Columbus, Ohio, quotes 38 cents per pound and 40 cents per pound if you have over 100 pounds.

Aluminum Price in Texas

CMC Recycling in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas is currently paying 40 cents per pound for aluminum cans. That’s approximately half the current going rate.

In Wisconsin

In ARR in Waukesha, Wisconsin, they quote 40 cents per pound. Also, Stateline Recycling in Janesville, Wisconsin, gives 25 cents per pound and 30 cents per pound as their pricing if you have over 100 pounds.

Where can I Recycle Aluminum Cans for Money?

If you’ve gone through the trouble of collecting your cans, then chances are you want to turn those cans into some “gold.” The most common places to get returns on aluminum cans are:

  • Scrap Yards & Recycling Centers
  • Bottle Deposits
  • eBay / Etsy

What are Scrap Yards and Recycling Centers paying for Aluminum Cans?

First, you need to understand that the price of aluminum fluctuates. This means that the price is changing every single day. It’s kind of like the stock market. Other metals, such as copper, nickel, and tin, differ more greatly. There are three of the most precious, all-day, non-ferrous metals.

On top of the fluctuating costs, you need to remember that when you take the aluminum in, you won’t get the same price as the one shown in the chart above. The recycling center will have a purchase and a selling price listed.

This ensures that the recycling center will pay you less than the current value of aluminum and will charge you more for aluminum than it is worth. This is basically because the scrap yard wants to make money on the sale, which is impossible if it provides the same price as aluminum trading.

How do you get the highest price for recycled aluminum cans at recycling centers?

Here are the two most important things to know from my study on this:

  1. Ask around; prices vary a lot!

You may be shocked about how pricing differs even in the same state. Some recycling facilities have charged as much as 15 cents a pound more. Other places quote a flat rate that may be well higher than the bulk rate of some recycling centers!

  1. It was 100 pounds. 100 is the static number of the aluminum can!

If you’re going for a lot of money, 100 pounds seems to be the mystery number. The wealth Artisan reports that most buyers with a bulk price tier offered their best price of 100 pounds or more.

However, be sure that the bulk price is worth the effort. Some places quote a flat rate that is as good or better than the bulk rate of other places!

  1. Bottle Deposits: they pay the most!

If you have an aluminum can made from soda or beer, you might wonder what to do with it. Today, if you’re in one of the states with a bottle deposit, you can get a nice amount of money for your can (compared to the melt value).

You get five cents for many of these states to get the can back. These countries also have some of the highest recycling rates in the world as a whole. Here is a list of them (data recovered from NCSL on 6/28/2019):

State Price for 12 oz can

California 5¢  

Connecticut 5¢  

Hawaii 5¢  

Iowa 5¢  

Maine 5¢  

Massachusetts 5¢  

Michigan 10¢  

New York 5¢  

Oregon 10¢  

Vermont 5¢  

Aluminum cans worth

Additionally, if you live in Michigan or Oregon, you get the highest return on any bottle because every aluminum can is worth 10 cents per can.

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Only note that if you live around a state with a deposit, it’s often illegal to carry in outdoor cans for higher deposits, so you can’t get Kramer and Newman from Seinfeld, New York, to Michigan aluminum can transport.

Thus, kindly check the state’s laws thoroughly to avoid getting into trouble. Legal businesses grow consistently and peacefully.

What to do with Aluminum Cans

  1. Try Manufacturing:

The above figures may have been quite discouraging. I agree; almost painful. However, you can do something cool with your aluminum cans.#

Try manufacturing. Stay with me, please. Okay, you certainly didn’t plan to get into the manufacturing industry, but if you have the technical know-how, and the materials, you might be able to spin some of that aluminum can “straw” into some “gold” aluminum!

  1. Sell Aluminum Cans

The aluminum ingots on eBay indicate they sell for up to $4.00 a pound. That’s a 570 percent markup!

With some imagination and time, you can increase the amount you receive from your cans.

See a video describing how to melt your cans into ingots. Please consider the time spent melting the aluminum cans and the amount used to ship them. These should enable you to decide if the income or projected income is worth the effort.

Sure, we do not want you to lose money, all to gain some passive income.

My smart money advice is always to focus more effort on high-revenue investments and spare time on low-revenue ideas. That way, your actions bring you more money, and everyone is happy!

In addition, molten metal is very toxic, and only adults can melt it carefully. You need a great deal of care here. Please apply all necessary caution. No amount of generated revenue is worth you losing any body part to artificial deformity.

FAQs on How Much Aluminum Cans are Worth

How many aluminum cans do I need to make $100?

At a specified CRV value of $0.05/can, you’d need $100/$0.05=2,000 cans to get $100. If you had the above by-weight price of $1.60 per pound, you’d need 62.5 pounds of cans to get you $100. At 31 cans per pound, you’d need 1938 cans.

How much money do I get for a pound of aluminum cans?

With about half an ounce of aluminum per can or 32 cans per pound, each can is worth about 1.7 cents. Prices go up and down, but they are typically comparable globally at any given time.

Should I crush cans for recycling?

Crushed cans are more challenging to sort out and contaminate other recyclable products when added to the recycling stream.

How much are aluminum cans worth?

Presently, aluminum is about 81 cents per pound.

What is the formula for the price of aluminum cans?

(# of cans) x.03 x (price in the chart above, 81 cents would be .81)

Where can I Recycle Aluminum Cans for Money?

The most common places to get returns on aluminum cans are:
Scrap Yards & Recycling Centers
Bottle Deposits
eBay / Etsy

Conclusion

Finally, I’ll tell you that no ‘income idea’ is too passive to be ignored. What you may see as an inconsequential money idea, someone may take the same picture, the same circumstances, or even worse, and spin a million-dollar business from it.

Thus, if you have some time, say lunch break, etc., consider selling aluminum or melting and selling. You could even partner with someone who has the time to gather the aluminum cans.

Whatever your decision, I reiterate, “…focus more efforts on high-revenue investments and spare time on low-revenue ideas.”

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