Scrap Value Calculator

Urban Mining & Scrap Payout Calculator

Estimate recoverable scrap value, teardown economics, and real gross recovery rates using current U.S. reference prices and your own local prices.

1. What are you processing?

Used for raw motor and sealed-unit/compressor calculations.
Business overhead

2. Price inputs

The calculator defaults to current U.S. reference prices. Switch to local prices whenever your yard pays differently.
Editable local price table — USD per lb
Reference values are intended as current U.S. scrap-market benchmarks. Local yards may pay more or less. Appliance payout figures shown below are your supplied shop-tested values.

3. Results

Estimated Recoverable Value
$55.00
Labor overhead
$9.38
Consumables
$1.50
Total overhead
$10.88
Net scrap business profit
$44.12
Gross recovery rate
$220.00/hr
Strong recovery economics.

Calculation breakdown

Educational planning tool. Confirm grades, deductions, local yard pricing, and applicable handling requirements before acting on any estimate.

What Do These Numbers Mean?

The calculator is designed to show more than just a scrap price.
It helps you understand whether tearing down a unit makes economic sense.

Estimated Recoverable Value

This is the estimated dollar value of the materials you can recover from the selected appliance or scrap item after applying the calculator's material-recovery assumptions.For raw electric motors and sealed units, the value is calculated from the item's weight and the specified copper, aluminum, and steel percentages. For appliances with established teardown values, the calculator uses the real recoverable values entered into the tool.

Gross Recovery Rate

This shows the estimated recoverable material value per hour based on the processing time you entered.It is a gross recovery rate, not your final profit. Labor and consumables are deducted separately.

Labor Cost

Labor cost represents the value of your working time based on the target hourly wage you enter.For example, 15 minutes of work at a $30/hour target rate produces a $7.50 labor cost.

Consumables

This represents the smaller operating costs associated with processing the material, such as cutting wheels, blades, electricity, gloves, cleaning supplies, and other consumables.You can adjust this figure to reflect your actual operating costs.

Total Overhead

Total overhead combines your estimated labor cost + consumables.This gives you a more realistic picture of what the teardown costs before calculating the final business result.

Net Scrap Business Profit

This is the estimated recoverable value minus labor and consumables.A positive result means the calculated recovery value exceeds the operating cost you entered. A negative result means the unit may not be economically attractive under those conditions.

CCA Winding

CCA means Copper Clad Aluminum.When you check the CCA Winding option, the calculator applies an 80% reduction to the calculated copper component value. The aluminum and steel components remain calculated normally.This is important because a motor that appears to contain valuable copper may produce a substantially different return when the winding is copper clad aluminum rather than conventional copper.

Current Reference Prices vs. Local Prices

The calculator provides current U.S. reference prices as a starting point.Actual scrap yard payouts can vary by location, material grade, quantity, cleanliness, market conditions, and individual yard policies. The Local Prices option lets you replace the reference prices with the prices you actually receive.

The Bottom Line

The most important number is not always the highest scrap price.The real question is:"How much money will I actually make for the time and effort required to recover it?”That is why this calculator combines material value, processing time, labor, consumables, and net profit into one view.

Estimated Recoverable Value

This is the estimated dollar value of the materials you can recover from the selected appliance or scrap item after applying the calculator's material-recovery assumptions.For raw electric motors and sealed units, the value is calculated from the item's weight and the specified copper, aluminum, and steel percentages. For appliances with established teardown values, the calculator uses the real recoverable values entered into the tool.

Gross Recovery Rate

This shows the estimated recoverable material value per hour based on the processing time you entered.It is a gross recovery rate, not your final profit. Labor and consumables are deducted separately.

Labor Cost

Labor cost represents the value of your working time based on the target hourly wage you enter.For example, 15 minutes of work at a $30/hour target rate produces a $7.50 labor cost.

Consumables

This represents the smaller operating costs associated with processing the material, such as cutting wheels, blades, electricity, gloves, cleaning supplies, and other consumables.You can adjust this figure to reflect your actual operating costs.

Total Overhead

Total overhead combines your estimated labor cost + consumables.This gives you a more realistic picture of what the teardown costs before calculating the final business result.

Net Scrap Business Profit

This is the estimated recoverable value minus labor and consumables.A positive result means the calculated recovery value exceeds the operating cost you entered. A negative result means the unit may not be economically attractive under those conditions.

CCA Winding

CCA means Copper Clad Aluminum.When you check the CCA Winding option, the calculator applies an 80% reduction to the calculated copper component value. The aluminum and steel components remain calculated normally.This is important because a motor that appears to contain valuable copper may produce a substantially different return when the winding is copper clad aluminum rather than conventional copper.

Current Reference Prices vs. Local Prices

The calculator provides current U.S. reference prices as a starting point.Actual scrap yard payouts can vary by location, material grade, quantity, cleanliness, market conditions, and individual yard policies. The Local Prices option lets you replace the reference prices with the prices you actually receive.

The Bottom Line

The most important number is not always the highest scrap price.The real question is:"How much money will I actually make for the time and effort required to recover it?”That is why this calculator combines material value, processing time, labor, consumables, and net profit into one view.