Scrap Metal Prices in Albany
Albany is the largest town in WA's Great Southern region, 400km south-east of Perth. Scrap yards here serve agricultural, marine and residential customers across a wide rural catchment, with transport distance to Perth smelters limiting payout rates.
Current scrap metal prices in Albany
Spot price equivalents adjusted for Albany's regional rate (0.76×). Actual yard payouts apply the grade-specific payout rate on top — typically 12–78% of spot depending on grade.
| Metal | Sydney spot | Albany equiv. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | $21.31 | $16.20 | Grades & payouts → |
| Aluminium | $4.36 | $3.31 | Grades & payouts → |
| Brass | $16.05 | $12.20 | Grades & payouts → |
| Steel | $0.42 | $0.32 | Grades & payouts → |
| Stainless Steel | $2.29 | $1.74 | Grades & payouts → |
| Lead | $2.72 | $2.06 | Grades & payouts → |
| Zinc | $5.37 | $4.08 | Grades & payouts → |
| Nickel | $22.33 | $16.97 | Grades & payouts → |
How Albany compares
Scrap yards in Albany pay roughly 24% below the Sydney national benchmark (0.76× regional adjustment). Among Australian regional centres, rates here are closest to Burnie (0.78×). The lower payout reflects Albany's distance from major smelters and ports — transport costs to processing facilities reduce what yards can pay sellers.
Where the yards are in Albany
Albany is a one-yard market. The city's only listed scrap merchant is an independent on Reddale Road that takes ferrous and non-ferrous metal from farms, workshops and households across the Great Southern. Centennial Park, the light-industrial area 2 km north of the town centre, is where most of the trades and workshop customers are based.
The City of Albany also accepts scrap metal free of charge at its Hanrahan Road Waste Facility, which is the practical option for small loads of appliances and steel that are not worth a yard trip. With a single commercial buyer, there is no local competition on price, so the posted rate is the rate.
Where Albany's metal goes
Nothing is processed in Albany. Perth is 418 km north by road, and the nearest confirmed shredder is at Kwinana Beach on Perth's southern edge, with container export through Fremantle. The Port of Albany handles grain and woodchips, not scrap. That 400 km haul is why Albany sits among the lower-paying WA markets: the yard has to fill a truck before metal moves, and the freight is deducted before the offer.
What's different about selling in Albany
Western Australia regulates scrap through the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 1994: since 1 December 2020 anyone buying scrap copper, brass or bronze must hold a second-hand dealer licence, take 100 points of identification from every seller and report each transaction to police, though cash itself is not banned. Containers for Change, the state's 10-cent container refund scheme, has run since October 2020 and was widened to most drink containers from July 2026, so cans are usually worth more at a refund point than on the aluminium scale. Albany's economy is agriculture, fishing, timber and tourism, so the scrap stream is farm machinery, fencing wire, marine fittings and the occasional harvester rather than industrial plant, and volumes are seasonal, rising after harvest clean-ups.
Rules for selling scrap in Western Australia
- Governing law
- No scrap-specific Act. The Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 1994 and Regulations 1996 apply, but the Regulations (as at 11 June 2025) exclude ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal from the definition of second-hand goods except gold, silver, copper and copper alloy (including bronze and brass). Only dealers in scrap copper, brass, bronze, gold or silver need a WA Police second-hand dealer licence.
- Photo ID
- For copper, copper alloy, gold or silver, the licensed dealer must verify the seller's identity to at least 100 points using the checks in regulation 13 (photo documents score higher). For steel, aluminium and other scrap outside the Act no statutory ID requirement was found, although yards may set their own.
- Cash payments
- No cash ban. The licensing change that took effect on 1 December 2020 did not stop cash payment (as reported by the building industry's PACT Site Security), although licensed dealers must record and report copper and copper alloy transactions.
- Scrapping a vehicle
- To cancel a vehicle licence, surrender the number plates at a DTMI service centre or regional agent (or lodge Form VL14 if the plates are lost or stolen) and apply for a pro rata refund of licence fees. Vehicles on the Written-Off Vehicles Register need the date of the accident on the refund application.
- Container deposit scheme
- Containers for Change, 10 cents per eligible container, since 1 October 2020. Expanded from 1 July 2026 to almost all drink containers between 150 mL and 3 litres.
- Also worth knowing
- PACT Site Security reported that the December 2020 change carries penalties of $2,000 to $5,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment for individuals, or fines up to $20,000 for companies, and that dealers must hold copper for 14 days without altering it. Those points come from an industry body, not from the regulation text.
Summarised from the legislation and government guidance linked on our state-by-state rules guide. Rules change; confirm with the yard before you go.
Other Western Australia scrap markets
Yards across Western Australia pay rates relative to their distance from major smelters and ports. Perth is the state capital and typically has the most competitive rates in the state.
Popular items: what they're worth in Albany
Estimated scrap value at Albany yards. Assumes properly prepared material (oil drained, copper stripped from motors, refrigerant degassed where required).
Scrap yards in Albany
We don't list any yards in Albany yet — submit one to help build the directory. View directory page →
Frequently asked questions about scrap metal in Albany
Where are the best scrap metal yards in Albany? +
Our yard directory lists Albany yards with addresses, phone numbers and Google ratings, but we don't rank them — the best yard for you depends on the metal, the load size and who is paying well that week. The practical approach is to call 2-3 yards before transporting a load: published rates are useful guides, but actual offers vary by day, load size, and material quality.
Why does Albany pay less than Sydney for scrap metal? +
The 24% gap to Sydney reflects transport costs. Metal sold in Albany eventually travels to a smelter or export port — typically via Perth — and yards price the freight cost into their offer. Our regional adjustment is modelled from observed yard rates plus distance to processing facilities.
What's the highest-paying scrap metal in Albany? +
Copper, by a wide margin. Clean bare-bright copper currently pays around $12.63 per kilogram in Albany. Brass and aluminium follow, with steel paying the least per kilogram but compensating through volume — most ferrous loads are weighed on commercial weighbridges where small differences in rate matter less than tonnage.
Do Albany scrap yards require photo ID? +
Yes for most non-ferrous metals and always for lead-acid batteries and catalytic converters. Western Australia legislation requires yards to record seller identification on regulated transactions, primarily to deter metal theft. A driver's licence is the most commonly accepted form. Cash payments above certain thresholds may require additional documentation under state-specific regulations.
What other WA cities have scrap yards? +
Yes — Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Mandurah, and others all have active scrap yards covered on this site. Perth (the Western Australia capital) generally has the most yards and most competitive rates in the state.
When is the best time of week to bring a load to a Albany yard? +
Tuesday through Thursday mornings generally produce the best experience. Yards are less crowded than Mondays (when weekend volume arrives), prices are stable mid-week, and weighbridge wait times are shorter. Many Albany yards close early on weekends or operate reduced hours, so confirm opening times before transport.