You've got a garage full of sticky bags. Maybe you’ve been crushing them for months or you just hosted a massive backyard bash and the sheer volume of empty Bud Light and LaCroix cans is starting to feel like a down payment on a house. It isn't. But it’s still money. If you’re wondering how much is a pound of aluminum cans worth right now, the honest answer is: it depends on where you live and how much the global commodities market is freaking out this week.
Scrap metal isn't like returning a shirt to Target. Prices fluctuate daily.
On average, you’re looking at anywhere from $0.35 to $0.60 per pound for "Used Beverage Cans" (UBCs) at a typical scrap yard in the United States. If you live in a "bottle bill" state like Michigan or Oregon, the math changes entirely because you aren’t selling metal; you’re collecting a deposit. But for the rest of us in the wild west of recycling, we’re at the mercy of the LME—the London Metal Exchange.
The Reality of the "Price Per Pound"
Most people walk into a recycling center expecting a windfall. They don't get one. Aluminum is incredibly lightweight, which is great for fuel economy when shipping soda, but terrible for your wallet when you’re trying to weigh it in.
It takes roughly 31 to 35 empty 12-ounce cans to make a single pound.
Think about that for a second. You need over thirty cans just to hit that $0.45 mark. If you have a standard 13-gallon kitchen trash bag stuffed to the brim with uncrushed cans, you’re probably holding maybe two or three pounds of metal. That’s a taco. Not even a fancy taco. Just a basic one.
The price varies because of "spread." A scrap yard buys your cans at a lower price than what they sell them for to a secondary smelter. They have to pay for the baler, the forklift, the electricity, and the guy behind the counter who looks like he hasn't seen sunlight since 2004. That overhead eats into your profit. According to Scrap Monster and iScrap App, two of the most reliable trackers for this stuff, prices can swing 10% in a single afternoon if a major trade deal falls through or if energy prices in China spike.
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Why Your Local Yard Pays Less Than the Internet Says
You’ll see a price online—maybe $0.70—and get excited. Then you show up and the sign says $0.40. You aren't being scammed. Usually.
The "spot price" of aluminum is for high-grade, clean ingots. Your cans are "contaminated." They have paint on the outside. They have microscopic plastic liners on the inside to keep the soda from eating through the metal. They might have a little bit of backwash or a stray cigarette butt. All of that is "loss" to the recycler. When they melt those cans down, they lose a percentage of the weight to dross and impurities.
The Bottle Bill Factor: A Massive Difference
If you’re in a state with a container deposit law, stop reading about scrap prices. Seriously.
- California: $0.05 for most cans, $0.10 for larger ones.
- Michigan: A flat $0.10 per can.
- Oregon: $0.10 per can.
- Vermont/New York/Connecticut: $0.05.
In Michigan, those 32 cans that make up a pound are worth $3.20. In a non-deposit state like Texas or Florida, those same 32 cans are worth maybe $0.48. That is a 600% difference. This is why you see people in movies trying to haul trucks of cans across state lines—which, by the way, is highly illegal and a great way to get a visit from state troopers.
Is It Worth It to Crush Them?
Logistically? Yes. Financially? No.
A pound of aluminum is a pound of aluminum whether it’s a shiny disc or a tall cylinder. The scrap yard pays by weight. However, some automated "Reverse Vending Machines" (RVMs) in grocery stores won't take crushed cans because they can't scan the barcode. If you're going to a scrap yard, crush away. It saves space in your truck. If you're going to a redemption center for a nickel a pop, keep them whole.
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How to Get the Absolute Best Price
Don't just drive to the closest place. Call around.
Scrap yards are competitive. One might be "long" on aluminum and not want any more, so they drop their price to discourage sellers. Another might have a contract to fill and will pay a premium to get the tonnage they need. Ask for the "UBC price." Use the terminology. It makes you sound like a pro rather than someone cleaning out their basement.
Check for "clean" vs "dirty." If you have aluminum siding or old lawn furniture mixed in with your cans, keep them separate. Cans are a specific grade. If you mix them with "old sheet" aluminum, the yard might downgrade your entire load to the lowest common denominator price.
The Macro Economics of Your Soda Habit
Why does the price change so much? Energy.
Creating new aluminum from bauxite ore is an energy hog. It takes a staggering amount of electricity. Recycling aluminum uses about 95% less energy than making it from scratch. When oil and gas prices go up, the value of your recycled cans usually goes up too, because it's cheaper for companies like Alcoa or Novelis to buy your old cans than to dig new holes in the ground.
Also, watch the auto industry. Ford’s F-150 is aluminum-intensive. When truck sales are booming, the demand for aluminum scrap often follows suit. It’s a weird, interconnected web where a guy buying a truck in Detroit affects the five dollars you get for your bag of cans in Alabama.
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Practical Steps for Success
Stop storing your cans in wet cardboard boxes. They leak. They smell. Use heavy-duty plastic liners or dedicated bins.
Wait for the "Big Load." Taking five pounds to the yard isn't worth the gas money. Most pros wait until they have at least 50 to 100 pounds. At $0.50 a pound, a 100-pound haul is a cool $50 bill. That's worth the trip.
Cleanliness matters. You don't need to dishwasher your cans—that’s insane—but give them a quick shake. If a yard sees half an inch of stale soda in the bottom of every can, they’ll deduct "moisture weight." They aren't paying for sugar water.
Check the magnets. If a magnet sticks to your "aluminum," it’s actually steel or tin. Real aluminum is non-ferrous (not magnetic). Scrap yards hate it when you try to sneak steel cans into the aluminum pile. It ruins the batch.
Watch the calendar. Prices often dip in the winter when construction slows down and rise in the summer. It’s not a hard rule, but it’s a trend worth noting.
What to Do Next
First, verify if you are in a deposit state. If you are, go to the grocery store, not the scrap yard. If you aren't, download an app like iScrap to see the national average, then call two local yards within a 10-mile radius. Ask for their current UBC price per pound.
Once you have your cans sorted and crushed, wait until the price is at least in the mid-40s before making the trip. If the price is sitting at $0.25, just hold onto them in the garage if you have the space. The market always turns eventually.
Finally, remember that recycling isn't just about the cash. Even if the price of aluminum drops to pennies, you're keeping high-value metal out of a landfill where it would sit for 500 years. The fact that someone will pay you for your "trash" at all is a rare win-win in the modern economy.