[SOLVED] scrap car batteries - how much do scrappies pay?

[Jim K]

scrap car batteries - how much should/do scrappies pay?

Jim K

[Andy Bartlett]

Well lead scrap current going rate is 70p/kg, so if battery about 10Kg probably a fiver!

Andy

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Depends on weight, obviously, but the last one I got rid of (70 amp/hr) was about a fiver.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 15:04:28 on Fri, 29 Mar

2013, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:

That's interesting, the local (national chain) Tyre/Battery/Exhaust place wanted to *charge* me a couple of quid to "dispose of" the old one. I took it to the tip where they collect them for free. Never thought of asking someone to pay to take it away.

[charles]

you paid nothing becasue you were a private individual. Trade waste costs money to dispose of.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 07:43:08 on Sat, 30 Mar 2013, charles remarked:

Does it cost more than a fiver each to get a scrappie to collect a bulk order of scrap car batteries? (Such that the fiver each he pays you doesn't cover the cost of ringing him up to come round and collect them?)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You need to take it to a scrap metal dealer to get paid for it. A battery dealer charging for disposal is taking the piss - as they will have collections from one, and get paid.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 11:02:18 on Sat, 30 Mar

2013, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:

I realise that. And I'm not sure where I'd find one, other than the local "tip" (waste recycling facility) doubling as one - but with everything they get being for free.

Exactly.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

There are three that I know of closer to here than the 'tip' which is about a couple of miles away. I'd say the same would apply in most towns. Look up your yellow pages, etc.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 12:31:26 on Sat, 30 Mar

2013, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:

My 'tip' is about a mile away (and where I last lived about 500yds).

According to Yell, the nearest scrap metal[1] dealer is 9.5 miles away.

[1] There's a scrap-car dealer closer, but do they pay for batteries?

[Andrew Gabriel]

At one of the council scrap yards I've used, all the lead acid batteries are chucked into a skip. I have visions of the driver trying to lift it up and wondering why all the batteries are still on the ground and the skip has no bottom. At another site, they're all stacked carefully, keeping them the right way up.

I don't recall the dates now, but something like 20 years ago, the industry got around 90% of dead car batteries back to the manufacturers for recycling, because the value of them was enough to pay for their return. Then the government introduced recycling certificates to make sure none of them were being discarded, and the recyling rate plummeted due to having to buy the certificates and process paperwork for each dead battery. As lead prices have risen, this does now cover the recyling paperwork overhead and the recycling rate has risen again.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 13:22:42 on Sat, 30 Mar

2013, Andrew Gabriel remarked:

Every site I've seen has them collected in a special rubberised container about 2m^3.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If they buy in scrap cars, there's a good chance they will. But maybe won't pay as much for one as a pukka scrap metal dealer as they'll have higher overheads.

[Gazz]

very much unlikely, it's the metal dealers that will take the lead out of the case and process it, the scrap car yards just deal in parts... they may well power wash the case and offer it for sale mind.

i remember a few years ago in germany, i bought a small car battery from a supermarket to use with an electric outboard for my inflatable canoe, i had just enough cash for it, as the shop didn't accept visa cards, then at the till another 10 odd euro's was added to the price, 'Pfand' said the cashier,

Which means deposit for recycling, common on things like bottles of pop, 30 cents is added to the price of a 1.5 litre bottle, you get it back when you return the plastic bottle to any shop, just like our old glass bottles here

I imagine the battery deposit is refunded if i were to take the dead battery back in a few years, tho it may also cover the cost of having it recycled, unfortunately i couldent put into german that i was going to be taking it to england with me in a few months, where i'd dispose of it there, not that i imagine anything could have been done about the deposit jobbie,

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 16:32:12 on Sat, 30 Mar

2013, Gazz remarked:

The battery I replaced was twelve years old, and was probably bought the other end of the country. Would one have to keep the receipt, and would any garage pay back the deposit?

We are told that the cost is minus five pounds.

[news]

Batteries seem to track at 50% of the clean lead scrap price, so about 50p currently

AJH

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 11:59:30 on Sun, 31 Mar 2013, [e-mail] remarked:

If that 50% of the weight of the battery, or 50% of the weight of the lead in a battery (which is apparently about 60% of the total).

Which is exactly a fiver for a 10Kg battery, although the one I replaced was 14Kg.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The 70 amp.hr one I got a fiver for more like 18 Kg. About a year ago.

[news]

I infer the weight of the whole battery is worth 50% of the clean lead value.

AJH

[Roland Perry]

In message , at 13:42:08 on Sun, 31 Mar 2013, [e-mail] remarked:

Right, so you are getting 50% of the battery weight rather than 60%. That's not too bad of a discount, given that the scrappie has to break it apart, dispose of the plastic and acid etc.