Aluminum is the most widely recycled non-ferrous metal in the world, and for good reason. It is lightweight, abundant, and endlessly recyclable. Whether you are bringing in a bag of beverage cans, a truck full of aluminum extrusions from a job site, or old cast aluminum parts, MOME Metals Recycling pays competitive prices for every type of aluminum scrap in Fort Myers and Southwest Florida.
Recycling aluminum saves approximately 95 percent of the energy needed to produce new aluminum from bauxite ore. An aluminum can that is recycled today can be back on the shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days. At MOME Metals, we sort and grade your aluminum accurately to ensure you receive the best possible price for each type of material you bring in.
We purchase every form of aluminum scrap. Here are the most common types we see and what makes each one distinct.
Used beverage cans are the most commonly recycled aluminum item. Crushed or uncrushed, we buy them by the pound. Approximately 31 to 33 cans make one pound. A great way for anyone to earn extra cash.
Aluminum extrusion profiles free of screws, plastic, rubber, and other attachments. Common sources include window frames, door frames, curtain wall sections, and structural profiles from construction projects.
Aluminum extrusion with plastic thermal breaks, rubber seals, screws, or other non-aluminum attachments still in place. Pays less than clean extrusion but still competitive. Common from window and door replacements.
Thick, heavy aluminum castings including engine blocks, transmission housings, lawnmower decks, outdoor furniture frames, barbecue grills, and marine engine parts. Cast aluminum has a rougher, more porous texture than sheet or extrusion.
Flat aluminum sheet, siding, soffit, fascia, flashing, and aluminum clips. Common from construction, renovation, and roofing projects. Clean sheet with no paint pays the best rate in this category.
Aluminum electrical wire from power distribution and older residential wiring. Insulated and bare aluminum wire accepted. Commonly found in overhead power lines, service entrance cables, and some older building wiring.
Aluminum alloy wheels from cars, trucks, motorcycles, and trailers. Remove the tire, valve stem, and wheel weights for the best price. Clean rims with no center caps or lug nuts attached receive the highest payout.
Aluminum lithographic and offset printing plates from print shops and publishing operations. These thin, flat sheets are a high-grade aluminum scrap and command strong pricing due to their alloy purity and clean composition.
Aluminum prices are driven by the London Metal Exchange (LME) and domestic market conditions. At MOME Metals, our aluminum buy prices are updated each business day to reflect current market rates. Different types and grades of aluminum pay at different rates based on purity, contamination, and processing requirements.
Clean extrusion and litho sheets typically command the highest per-pound prices, while cans and dirty extrusion pay less but are accepted in any quantity. Call ahead for current quotes on all aluminum grades before bringing in your load.
Call for Today's Aluminum Prices
Prices change daily based on market conditions. Call 239-334-1191 for an up-to-the-minute quote on all aluminum types.
Simple preparation steps that help you get the best price for your aluminum scrap.
Before you haul anything in, run a magnet over it. Aluminum is non-magnetic, so the magnet will not stick. If the magnet sticks, the item is steel or iron, not aluminum. This quick test prevents you from mixing metals and helps ensure accurate sorting before you arrive.
For extrusions, remove plastic thermal breaks, rubber gaskets, screws, and other non-aluminum parts. For wheels, remove tires, valve stems, and wheel weights. Removing these attachments upgrades your material from dirty to clean pricing, which pays noticeably more per pound.
Keep cans separate from extrusion, extrusion separate from cast, and sheet in its own pile. Each type pays a different rate, and mixing them means everything gets paid at the lowest grade in the batch. Sorting at home takes minutes and can significantly increase your total payout.
Empty and rinse beverage cans to remove residual liquid. Cans sold with liquid inside will be deducted for moisture weight, reducing your payout. You do not need to crush cans, but draining them ensures you get paid for aluminum, not water weight.
Aluminum is one of the easiest metals to identify once you know what to look for. Its unique combination of light weight, silver-white color, and non-magnetic properties make it straightforward to distinguish from steel, copper, and other common metals.
Aluminum is one-third the weight of steel. Pick up a piece of suspected aluminum and compare it to a similar-sized piece of steel. The weight difference is immediately obvious. If it feels surprisingly light for its size, it is likely aluminum.
Aluminum will not stick to a magnet. This is the single most reliable quick test to separate aluminum from steel and iron. Carry a small magnet when you are sorting scrap and test every piece you are unsure about.
Aluminum has a natural silver-white appearance. Unlike steel, aluminum does not rust. It may oxidize with a dull white or grayish coating over time, but it never develops the reddish-brown rust that characterizes ferrous metals.
Beverage cans, window and door frames, gutters and downspouts, lawn furniture, screen door and window frames, car and truck wheels, boat parts, engine components, siding, soffit, and cooking pots and pans.
Steel is heavier, magnetic, and rusts. Aluminum is lighter, non-magnetic, and does not rust. The magnet test is the fastest way to tell them apart. Some painted or coated items may look similar, but the magnet never lies.
Both can appear silver and both may be non-magnetic. The key difference is weight. Stainless steel is significantly heavier than aluminum. A stainless steel pot feels noticeably heavier than a similar aluminum pot. When in doubt, our team can test it on-site.
Zinc die-cast parts can look like aluminum but are heavier and have a slightly bluish tint. Zinc is also denser and often found in small hardware pieces like carburetor bodies, cabinet handles, and zamak alloy parts.
Aluminum recycling is one of the most successful and impactful recycling stories in the world. The environmental and economic arguments for recycling aluminum are overwhelming and clear.
Recycling aluminum uses only 5 percent of the energy required to produce new aluminum from bauxite ore. This massive energy savings translates directly into reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower resource consumption.
Aluminum can be recycled over and over without any degradation in quality. About 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in active use today, continuously being recycled and reformed into new products.
A recycled aluminum can can be processed, reformed, refilled, and back on store shelves in as few as 60 days. This rapid closed-loop cycle is unmatched by nearly any other recycled material.
Aluminum does not biodegrade in landfills. Recycling keeps it out of the waste stream permanently while recovering its full material value. Every pound recycled is a pound that never sits in a landfill.
View current pricing for all metals we buy including copper, aluminum, brass, steel, stainless, and more.
View all metalsTop prices for all copper grades including bare bright, #1, #2, and insulated wire.
Learn MoreHigh-volume buyers of all ferrous metals including structural steel, rebar, cast iron, and sheet metal.
Learn MoreBring your aluminum scrap to MOME Metals Recycling for fast weighing, accurate grading, and same-day cash payment. From a bag of cans to a trailer full of extrusion, we buy it all.