Search "sell #2 copper scrap yards Australia" and you will find very different prices for what looks like the same metal. Part of that spread is real, because yards differ in costs and buyers. A lot of it is stale data, since directory prices can be a year old. Take the first quote or trust an old listing and you can hand over value without knowing it.
Here is why prices differ so much, how to test an offer against a benchmark you can check, and when sorting your pile is worth an hour with a hacksaw.
What No. 2 copper actually is
No. 2 is unalloyed copper that misses the No. 1 grade for one of a few reasons: solder on the joints, paint on the surface, tinning, light oxidation, or a wall thickness under 1.6mm. ScrapTrade's grade guide puts it plainly: No. 1 is clean tubing, bus bar and wire at least 1/16 inch thick, and No. 2 is copper with some solder, paint or light oxidation.
Most domestic strip-outs produce No. 2, not No. 1. Old hot-water lines come out with soldered joints. Pipe off a painted wall carries paint. Thin-gauge tube off an aircon or fridge line falls under the thickness cut. This is the grade most sellers actually hold, even when they think they've got the good stuff.
The quick field check: soldered joints, painted surfaces, thin-walled tube and tarnished pipe all land in No. 2. If you're not sure, say so in the listing and let the buyer confirm the grade.
How No. 2 copper is priced
We found no sourced current yard price for No. 2 copper, so none is published here. Published figures vary widely, some are a year old, and a headline number usually describes the best case. A better test is to turn any quote into a share of the copper benchmark. On 29 October 2026 the London Metal Exchange cash settlement was US$14,560 a tonne, about A$20.64 a kilogram at the Reserve Bank's rate, as worked through in how to check a scrap yard's copper offer. That is the price of refined copper, so scrap sells below it, and we have no sourced typical share for No. 2. Ask each yard what share of the benchmark it pays for your grade.
Why the same grade pays different prices at different yards
Grade confirmation happens at the scales, not on the phone. Two loads both described as "No. 2 copper" can grade differently once the yard sees the solder, the paint and the fittings, so the price you're quoted and the price you're paid can differ.
Several things move the number: how clean the load is, how big it is, the yard's own freight costs, regional demand, and each buyer's processing costs. A yard in Adelaide and a yard in Sydney face different costs and different buyers, so they pay different rates for the same metal.
This is why a firm phone quote without seeing the material is a red flag. The honest yards won't give one, and the ones who do are usually quoting a number they'll revise downwards on the day.
Sell #2 copper scrap yards Australia: who's taking it
List the load on ScrapTrade's marketplace and compare offers from verified buyers across Australia. Choose the closest accurate grade, describe the actual condition, include clear photos, and let buyers come to you with offers.
If you would rather drive to a yard, ring two or three local ones and ask whether they take No. 2 and what grade they will put on your load. Do not rely on a name from a directory without ringing first.
One warning: directory listings go stale, and a lot can change in the copper market in a year. Always ring before you load the ute.
When cutting the solder off pays and when it doesn't
The No. 1 to No. 2 gap is the biggest money left on the table. The gap moves with the market and we found no sourced figure for it, so ask a yard what it pays for each grade. On a 200kg load, even a small gap per kilo is real money for an hour's work.
So here's the decision rule. If the load is under a few dozen kilos, or the solder and paint can't be cut out cheaply, sell it as No. 2 and don't overthink it. On bigger loads, an hour with a hacksaw lifting clean straight lengths back to No. 1 is worth it. Solder is tin and lead, which contaminate the copper melt, so a joint you cut out cleanly lifts the pipe either side of it back up a grade.
On small loads, bring it unsorted and have the yard grade it in front of you. Cutting three soldered joints off 15kg of tube won't cover the afternoon it costs you.
On stripping wire: never burn insulation or paint off. It's illegal, it's dangerous, and it oxidises the copper, which costs you more than the coating ever did. Burnt wire can be graded down or rejected outright, so burning destroys value rather than adding it. Insulated cable is paid on recoverable copper content anyway, roughly 60–70% recovery per ScrapTrade's index, so the insulation isn't the disaster it looks like.
Preparation that protects your price
Separate your grades before you load: copper away from steel, aluminium, brass and plastic, and No. 2 away from anything better. Don't describe a mixed lot as clean. Disclose solder, paint, oil and fittings upfront, because the buyer will find them at the scales regardless.
The mixed-lot trap is the one that catches people. One brass fitting or steel bracket in a No. 2 pile can drag the whole load to the lowest grade in it. Ten minutes of pulling fittings off saves more than it costs.
The edge case most pages skip: heavily corroded copper doesn't grade as No. 2 at all. It gets graded separately on the scales, usually at a lower rate. If your pipe has been sitting in a flooded pit for five years, say so before you quote anyone a grade.
Payment, ID and paperwork
Dealers can't pay cash for scrap in NSW or Victoria. Payment goes to your bank account, so bring your account details and photo ID. For sales above A$82.50, a GST-registered buyer has to record your ID against a traceable identifier under the ATO's scrap rules.
On the ABN question: you only need one if you're selling as a business. Householders can give a signed statement instead. If a buyer tells you an ABN is mandatory for a one-off household clean-up, they're wrong, though note that without an ABN or an applicable exception the buyer may be required to withhold 47%.
How to check an offer before you drive
Ask what share of the copper benchmark the yard pays for your grade. A yard that answers that question directly is telling you how it prices; a yard that won't is telling you something too.
Get the price in writing with the date, the grade and the weight basis. Then get two or three quotes for the same described load, described the same way every time: "about 80kg of soldered copper pipe, some paint, no fittings." Watch the scales on the day, and if it's a trade weighbridge, it should be type approved by the National Measurement Institute and verified by a servicing licensee.
The figure that counts is confirmed after grading and weighing, never before. If you want offers to come to you instead of ringing around, list your scrap on ScrapTrade and get quotes from verified buyers across Australia.
Also worth reading: what is bare bright copper: the buyer's four tests, #1 vs #2 Copper: Grade Requirements and Oxidation and Copper Pipe Scrap: #1 and #2 Grades Explained.
See also: Do You Need a Licence to Sell Scrap in Australia?.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between No. 1 and No. 2 copper?
Solder, paint and light oxidation. ScrapTrade's guide describes #1 as clean tubing, bus bar and wire at least 1/16 inch thick, and #2 as copper that may carry solder, paint or light oxidation. Clean #1 pays more, so keep the two grades in separate piles.
Does solder on copper pipe reduce the scrap price?
Usually, yes. Copper with solder matches the #2 description, which pays less than clean #1 tubing. Disclose it up front rather than let the buyer find it at the scales.
Should I cut the soldered joints off before selling?
If most of the pipe is clean, cut the joints off and sell the two grades separately. If the lot is mostly fittings, cutting every joint rarely pays for the hours. Sell it as #2, say so in the listing and photograph the soldered sections.
Can I sell painted copper?
Yes. Painted copper sits in the #2 category under ScrapTrade's grade descriptions. Disclose the paint and include clear photos of it, because undisclosed paint is exactly what gets a load discounted at the scale.
Do scrap yards pay cash for copper?
Not in New South Wales. The Scrap Metal Industry Act bans dealers from paying cash for scrap metal, including by cheque payable to cash or payment in goods or services. Rules differ in other states, so check your state's current rules.
Is it worth stripping copper wire before selling?
Sometimes. Stripped wire grades higher than insulated cable, so it pays if you have long runs of thicker wire and the time to strip them by hand. Thin or short lengths rarely cover the effort. Never burn the insulation off, and skip chemical strippers too; both are hazardous.
What we could not verify
- Current yard prices for No. 2 copper in any Australian city.
- The typical share of the copper benchmark that yards pay for No. 2.
- Whether a particular yard takes No. 2 today.
Sources
- ScrapTrade Price Index grade definitions, accessed November 2026.
- Westmetall, Official LME prices, 29 October 2026; Reserve Bank of Australia exchange rates, 29 October 2026 (US$0.7053 per A$1).
- Australian Taxation Office, GST and scrap metal: code of compliance (3 July 2023).
- NSW Police Force, Scrap Metal Industry page, Scrap Metal Industry Act 2016 and Regulation 2024. Consumer Affairs Victoria, Scrap metal laws.
General information only, not legal or tax advice. ScrapTrade operates a scrap marketplace and has a commercial interest in the scrap trade.