Brass pays well when you take the time to sort it. Clean red brass and gunmetal can be worth significantly more than mixed or irony brass, and the difference often comes down to a bit of careful sorting with pliers and a magnet. At Johnny Metal Recycling, we offer competitive brass scrap prices in Melbourne based on the grade and condition of your material. Call 0449 894 456 for today’s price, or send us a photo and a rough weight and we’ll quote you back the same day.
Disclaimer: All prices on this page are estimates for general guidance only. They aren’t a quote or an offer to buy. Brass metal scrap prices change daily, and your final price depends on material grade, contamination, weight and market conditions at the time of sale. Contact JMR for a current quote.
Today's brass scrap prices in Melbourne
| Grade | What it is | JMR rate per kg |
| Red brass and gunmetal | Heavy valves, water meters, marine fittings. Around 85% copper | $5.50 – $7.50 |
| Clean yellow brass | Bright golden taps and bathroom fixtures, no plastic or steel | $5.00 – $7.00 |
| Plumbing brass and mixed fittings | Gate valves, ball valves, P-traps | $4.00 – $6.00 |
| Brass turnings | Machine shop swarf, dry and oil-free | $3.00 – $5.50 |
| Brass radiators | Older vehicle and industrial radiators | $3.00 – $5.00 |
| White brass | High zinc content, looks similar but pays less | $3.00 – $3.50 |
| Mixed or irony brass | Unsorted, steel attached, contaminated | $2.20 – $4.00 |
Brass scrap price per kg, grade by grade
Red brass and gunmetal
The best-paying brass we buy. Roughly 85% copper, which is why it pays close to what it does — it’s really a copper alloy wearing a brass name. You’ll know it by colour and weight: a deep reddish tone rather than a bright yellow one, and noticeably heavier in the hand than a yellow fitting of the same size.
Heavy valves, water meters, marine and industrial fittings, older pump bodies. If you’re a plumber pulling out commercial gear, this is the bin that matters — it carries the best price for brass scrap in Melbourne of anything on the list.
Clean yellow brass
Bright golden brass with nothing else attached. Taps, bathroom fittings, decorative hardware, sheet and rod offcuts. The word doing the work here is clean — no plastic handles, no rubber washers, no steel stems. Strip those out and yellow brass sits near the top of brass scrap prices JMR pays.
Yellow brass scrap prices drop quickly once contamination gets involved, which is the whole argument for sorting it properly.
Plumbing brass and mixed fittings
Gate valves, ball valves, P-traps, tap bodies still assembled. Good material, just carrying passengers — rubber washers, steel stems, ceramic cartridges. Sold as-is it sits mid-range. Stripped out, much of it reclassifies upward and picks up a better brass scrap price.
Brass turnings
Swarf and machining chips from engineering shops. JMR buys turnings by the drum, but they need to be dry and free of oil and coolant. Wet, oily turnings get downgraded because the weight isn’t all brass and the contamination has to be dealt with.
Brass radiators
Older vehicle and industrial radiators with brass tanks and copper cores. The brass scrap price on radiators sits below clean brass because of the solder, steel and general contamination that comes with them, but still well worth bringing in rather than putting through the steel bin.
White brass
High zinc content, and the one that catches people out. It looks close enough to ordinary brass at a glance but the scrap brass price in Melbourne is around half. Nothing to be done about it — it’s just worth knowing before you’re surprised at the weigh-in.
Mixed and irony brass
Unsorted brass, brass with steel still attached, contaminated material. We take it and plenty of people bring it in exactly as it came off the job. Just understand that a mixed bin is priced near the bottom, because that’s the only fair way to price metal nobody has separated.
How to tell what brass you've got
Two tests, both take seconds.
The magnet test. Brass and bronze are both non-magnetic. If a magnet sticks, you’re holding plated steel, not solid brass — and it’s worth knowing that before you load a trailer expecting brass money.
The scratch test. Plenty of “chrome” bathroom fittings are solid brass underneath a plated finish. Scratch a hidden edge with a blade or a file. If yellow or red shows through, that chrome tap is brass and should be priced as brass. This one is worth real money on a bathroom strip-out.
For colour, hold a suspected red brass fitting next to a known yellow one in daylight. The difference is obvious side by side and almost impossible to judge in isolation.
Our brass scrap recycling guide goes further into grade identification.
The mistakes that cost you money
These are the ones we see weekly, and every one of them comes off your brass scrap price.
Steel stems, springs and screws left inside valve bodies. The most common by a distance, and the easiest to fix.
Red brass tipped in with yellow. This is the expensive one. Separating red from yellow is the single highest-value sorting you can do with brass, and on a decent load it’s about forty minutes of work for a meaningful difference in what you’re paid.
More in our guide to how to prepare scrap metal before selling.
Why sell your brass to Johnny Metal Recycling
Brass grading is subjective enough that who you sell to matters. Here’s how JMR handles it.
Graded in front of you. If we’re calling something white brass rather than yellow, or irony rather than clean, we’ll show you why. Brass is where customers get quietly downgraded elsewhere, and it’s the part Johnny Metal Recycling makes visible.
Weighed in front of you. Verified digital scales, every load, while you watch.
Live market rates. JMR sets brass scrap prices against the market on the day you sell, not off a board printed months ago. That matters more with brass than most metals, because the copper content moves the scrap brass price in Melbourne.
Paid the same day. Bank transfer or cheque, no waiting on invoices.
No hidden fees. No handling charge, no processing deduction. The quote is the payment.
Free pickup over 500kg, anywhere in Melbourne, seven days a week with no weekend surcharge.
Over six years, licensed. Johnny Metal Recycling has been buying scrap brass in Melbourne for more than six years as a licensed buyer operating under Victorian regulations.
Brass scrap we buy at JMR
Taps and tapware · gate, ball and gas valves · water meters · P-traps and plumbing fittings · brass pipe, rod, sheet and offcuts · marine and industrial fittings · pump bodies · brass turnings and swarf · radiators · door and window hardware · decorative and architectural brass · musical instruments · cartridge cases.
Johnny Metal Recycling takes brass in any condition and any quantity. No minimum if you’re dropping off at the Braeside yard. Free pickup on loads over 500kg.
Full material detail is on our brass scrap Melbourne page.
How JMR weighs and pays
Every load is weighed on site on verified digital scales while you watch, and graded in front of you before anything is priced.
Payment is same day by bank transfer or cheque. Johnny Metal Recycling doesn’t pay cash — Victoria tightened the rules on cash in the scrap trade back in 2018 and JMR has worked to them since. No deductions afterwards, no hidden fees.
Brass recycling across Melbourne
Johnny Metal Recycling quotes brass scrap prices in Melbourne from our Braeside yard and collects across the city: the south-east and bayside, the eastern and northern corridors, and out west. Pickup runs seven days a week with no weekend surcharge, usually within one to two business days.
Brass recycling Melbourne-wide recovers both copper and zinc, and both can be reprocessed indefinitely without losing quality. Given where copper sits at the moment, the copper content in your old tapware is a bigger part of that brass scrap price than most people assume — which is worth remembering before anything goes in a skip.
Get today's brass scrap price
Ring Johnny Metal Recycling on 0449 894 456, tell us roughly what you’ve got and whether it’s sorted, and you’ll have today’s brass scrap prices in Melbourne in a couple of minutes.
Not sure whether it’s red or yellow? Describe where it came from — commercial valves and water meters usually mean red, while bathroom tapware is usually yellow — and JMR will work it out with you.
Or send photos and an estimated weight through the contact form and we’ll come back with a quote and a collection time.
Why Choose Us?
With over 6 years of experience, we are trusted scrap car buyers in Melbourne, offering competitive cash for old cars Melbourne residents rely on. Our team specialises in car removal and car recycling Melbourne, ensuring unwanted and scrap vehicles are removed safely and recycled responsibly to support a cleaner and more sustainable future.
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FAQs — Brass Scrap
What are the current brass scrap prices in Melbourne?
Johnny Metal Recycling pays $5.50–$7.50/kg for red brass and gunmetal, $5.00–$7.00/kg for clean yellow brass, and down to $2.20–$4.00/kg for mixed irony brass. Brass scrap prices in Melbourne move with the market, so call JMR on 0449 894 456 for today’s figure.
What is the brass scrap price per kg for yellow brass?
Clean yellow brass runs $5.00–$7.00/kg. Yellow brass scrap prices depend heavily on how clean it is — plastic handles, rubber washers and steel stems all pull it down toward the mixed rate.
What's the difference between red brass and yellow brass?
Red brass is around 85% copper, so it’s deeper in colour, noticeably heavier and pays more. Yellow brass is brighter and lighter. Red turns up in heavy valves, water meters and marine fittings; yellow in taps and bathroom fixtures. Separating them is the highest-value sorting you can do.
How do I know if something is really brass?
Use a magnet. Brass and bronze are non-magnetic, so if it sticks you have plated steel. Also scratch a hidden edge on chrome bathroom fittings — plenty are solid brass underneath the plating and should be paid as brass.
Do I have to strip the washers and steel stems out of valves?
No, JMR buys them assembled. But steel, rubber and ceramic all come off the weight and pull the grade down, so pulling them out generally pays for the time several times over.
Do you buy brass turnings?
Yes, by the drum. They need to be dry and free of oil and coolant — wet turnings get downgraded because the weight isn’t all brass.
Is there a minimum quantity to sell brass scrap in Melbourne?
No minimum if you’re dropping off at the Braeside yard. Free pickup applies on loads over 500kg, seven days a week with no weekend surcharge.