Refinery Brass Scrap Prices in New Jersey
National averages for Refinery Brass are currently sitting around $1.46 per pound. Check out the list below to see what local yards in New Jersey are paying, and learn how to keep your high-grade scrap out of the low-grade bin.
Average Refinery Brass Price
- Low (up to $1.60): Floor price, typically for small loads.
- Mid ($1.65): A fair deal for standard quantities.
- High ($1.70+): Top-dollar rate. Offered for large commercial loads or by the most competitive buyers.
Pricing verified from 2 live board rates today.
Top Scrap Yards Buying Refinery Brass in New Jersey
Don't just dump your heavy, contaminated scrap at the first scale you roll across. Compare the yards below to see who offers the best rates for Refinery Brass in New Jersey. Always call ahead to confirm pricing and acceptance criteria, as refinery-grade material often fluctuates heavily based on local demand and the national averages.
Southard Scrap Metal
RAW Recycling
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🚀 List your scrap yard ⟶Refinery Brass vs. Other Brass Grades
The #1 rule at scrap yards: if you mix grades, they’ll weigh everything at the lowest rate. See the price gap below — if you have higher-value metal, always sort and weigh each grade separately to avoid leaving money on the table.
Refinery Brass Price Trends & History
This chart shows where the market is headed. If the line is climbing, prices are rising — you might get a better deal in a few days. If it’s dropping, don’t wait: sell today before yards lower their buy prices further.
Refinery Brass: Scrap Yard Price vs. World Market (COMEX)
Avg scrap yard price
World market price (COMEX)
Refinery Brass: Spread vs. Exchange — Monthly History
| Period | World price (per lb) | Scrap yard price (per lb) | Spread vs. exchange |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 (current) | $5.764324 | $2.89 | -$2.87 (49.8%) |
| February 2026 | $5.880136 | $3.00 | -$2.88 (48.9%) |
| January 2026 | $5.894887 | $3.54 | -$2.36 (40%) |
| December 2025 | $5.497742 | $3.30 | -$2.20 (40%) |
| November 2025 | $5.064033 | $3.04 | -$2.03 (40%) |
| October 2025 | $5.050242 | $3.03 | -$2.02 (40%) |
| September 2025 | $4.662367 | $2.80 | -$1.87 (40%) |
| August 2025 | $4.477984 | $2.69 | -$1.79 (40%) |
| July 2025 | $5.482645 | $3.29 | -$2.19 (40%) |
| June 2025 | $4.883233 | $2.93 | -$1.95 (40%) |
| May 2025 | $4.686194 | $2.81 | -$1.87 (40%) |
| April 2025 | $4.654267 | $2.79 | -$1.86 (40%) |
| March 2025 | $5.13 | $3.08 | -$2.05 (40%) |
Refinery Brass Scrap Price History — Daily Data
A day-by-day market snapshot in exact numbers. Every day we aggregate buy prices from local scrap yards, recording the average, low, and high. Use this table to track real price movement over recent days.
| Date | Avg price (per lb) | Change | Range (Low/High) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/17/2026 | $1.65 / lb | — no change | $1.60 - $1.70 |
The Reality of Refinery Brass Pricing
Refinery brass is the catch-all heavyweight of the brass world. It usually consists of items with high percentages of impurities, irony brass, dross, sweeps, or heavily contaminated scrap that simply can't be sent to a standard brass mill. Currently, data shows that scrap yards in New Jersey and across the US are paying anywhere from $1.10 to $1.81 per pound. Because this material requires heavy industrial melting and refining to separate the valuable copper and zinc from the junk, it sits near the bottom of the brass pricing ladder. Knowing what belongs in this pile—and what doesn't—is the key to not getting ripped off.
Stop Bleeding Money at the Scale
The biggest mistake scrappers make is throwing higher-grade items into their refinery pile out of laziness. If you toss Water Meters or clean plumbing fittings into a bin destined for refinery pricing, you are throwing cash directly into the shredder. Mixing high-value brass with refinery scrap will cost you about $2.31 per pound in lost value. Take the time to separate your Brass Breakage, Brass Shells, and Brass EDM Wire. To give you an idea of the market, Brass Breakage typically pays $1.25 to $1.35/lb, so mixing it into your dirty refinery load just guarantees the buyer gets a bargain at your expense.
Identifying and Prepping Refinery Material
If you are dealing with industrial tear-downs, cleaning out an old machine shop, or sweeping up after a major machining job, you will likely encounter refinery brass. This grade is meant for the dirty stuff: brass attached to large chunks of iron, heavy plastics, or complex assemblies that are practically impossible to tear apart by hand.
Yard Pro Tip: For Refinery Brass, the magnet is your best friend, but you have to verify the base metal. If you have an assembly that is more than 50% steel or iron by weight but contains a decent chunk of brass, don't waste hours grinding it off. Sell it as Refinery Brass or Irony Brass. BUT, always hit the 'brass' portion with a file first. If it scratches white or silver under a thin yellow plating, it is die-cast zinc or pot metal, NOT brass. Throwing zinc die-cast into your refinery brass bin can cause the yard to reject or severely downgrade the entire barrel!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Refinery Brass pay so much less than clean brass?
Refinery brass requires intense metallurgical processing to recover the raw copper and zinc. The yards cannot sell it to standard mills; they have to ship it to specialized refineries. As a result, it trades about 68.9% below the COMEX spot price to cover the immense energy, transportation, and labor costs of extracting the usable metal.
Can I upgrade my Refinery Brass to a better price?
Sometimes it is possible. If your material is just clean yellow brass with a few steel screws or brackets, taking an angle grinder or wrench to remove the steel will bump it up to a clean brass grade. However, if it is slag, skimmings, or an integrated motor housing, the labor isn't worth the upgrade. At a national average around $1.46, it is often best to just take the refinery price and move on to your next load.
Will all yards accept refinery-grade brass?
No. Some smaller local yards New Jersey simply do not process enough volume to justify keeping a dedicated refinery or dross bin. Always call your local buyer before hauling in heavy, contaminated brass loads to ensure they actively purchase refinery-grade material and ask how they specifically grade it.
Refinery Brass scrap prices in New Jersey on the map
The map shows cities in New Jersey with Refinery Brass scrap prices. Click a marker or pick a city in the list below to see Refinery Brass prices in that location.