Johnny Metal Recycling buys scrap aluminium at competitive rates. We take everything from extrusion, sheet and wheels to cans, castings and mixed aluminium. As a guide, estimated rates for clean extrusion and good-condition wheels can reach around $3.50/kg. What we actually pay depends on grade, cleanliness, volume and market conditions on the day. Aluminium scrap prices in Melbourne move with global and local demand, so sorting your metal by grade and removing steel, plastic and rubber attachments is the easiest way to get a better quote. For today’s price, call JMR on 0449 894 456, 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. Scrap metal 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 scrap aluminium prices in Melbourne
| Grade | What it is | JMR rate per kg |
| Clean extrusion | Window frames, door tracks, no rubber or steel | $1.80 – $3.50 |
| Wheels and rims | Alloy wheels, weights and valves removed | $1.50 – $3.50 |
| Clean sheet and cuttings | Fabrication offcuts, unpainted | $1.40 – $3.00 |
| Stripped cable and wire | Bare aluminium conductor | $1.20 – $2.00 |
| Cast aluminium | Engine parts, gearbox cases, cookware | $0.90 – $2.20 |
| Cans (UBC) | Used beverage cans | $0.80 – $1.50 |
| Mixed, painted or irony | Steel attached, painted, contaminated | $0.50 – $1.50 |
Why do Melbourne rates don't follow the world price?
This is the part worth understanding, because it explains a conversation people have with us fairly often: “but I read aluminium is up.”
It is, internationally. The benchmark has been strong through 2026. But the aluminium scrap price a Melbourne yard pays isn’t the world price — it’s the world price filtered through three local things.
The exchange rate. Aluminium is priced in US dollars. When the Australian dollar moves, the local aluminium scrap price moves with it regardless of what the benchmark did.
Local demand. What Victorian processors and smelters actually want this month, which doesn’t always match global appetite.
Yard inventory. When yards across the city are holding plenty of aluminium, the aluminium scrap price softens. Basic, but it is part of the mechanism.
That combination is why domestic rates averaged $1.93/kg in late August and fell 12% across the quarter while the benchmark rose. Anyone quoting you a scrap aluminium price straight off an international chart is either not paying attention or hoping you aren’t.
More detail in our aluminium scrap price guide.
Scrap aluminium price per kg, grade by grade
The aluminium scrap price spread runs from $0.50 to $3.50. That’s seven times between the worst and best grade, which makes aluminium one of the metals where sorting is most worth the effort.
Clean extrusion
Window and door frames, tracks, shopfront sections, architectural extrusion. The best-paying aluminium JMR buys, provided it is properly clean — no rubber glazing seals, no steel screws or hinges, no plastic end caps.
Window frames out of a renovation are the classic case. Left assembled they’re a mixed grade. Twenty minutes with a screwdriver and the aluminium scrap price roughly doubles.
Wheels and rims
Alloy wheels are good aluminium and pay well. Take the tyre off, pull the steel wheel weights and remove the valve stem. A wheel with the weights still stuck to the rim gets downgraded for something that takes ten seconds to fix.
Clean sheet and cuttings
Fabrication offcuts, unpainted sheet, guttering, flashing. Solid mid-range material. Paint drops the aluminium scrap price toward the mixed grade, so unpainted sheet is worth keeping separate from painted.
Stripped cable and wire
Bare aluminium conductor from overhead line and some mains cable. Priced on recoverable metal, so the thicker the conductor relative to any sheath, the better.
Cast aluminium
Engine parts, gearbox housings, pump bodies, cookware, older cast fittings. Heavier and more porous than extrusion, and usually carries steel inserts and bolts, which is why the scrap aluminium price on cast sits below sheet and extrusion. Still well worth bringing in by the crate.
Cans
Used beverage cans. Low per kilo because a can weighs almost nothing, so you need a lot of them to make a weight. Worth bringing if you’ve been collecting; not worth a special trip with one bag.
Mixed, painted and irony aluminium
Anything with steel still attached, painted material, contaminated offcuts. We take it and plenty of people bring loads in exactly as they came off site. Just know a mixed load is priced at the value of its weakest component, which is how a load with good extrusion in it ends up paid at bottom rates.
What costs you money on an aluminium load
Every one of these comes straight off your aluminium scrap price, and all of them are fixable.
Twenty minutes separating a demolition load by type changes the total noticeably. On a trailer of window frames it’s the difference between top grade and mixed.
Why sell your aluminium to Johnny Metal Recycling?
Graded in front of you. If we’re calling something mixed rather than clean extrusion, JMR shows you why. With a seven-times spread between grades, how the aluminium scrap price is decided matters as much as the number itself.
Weighed in front of you. Verified digital scales, every load, while you watch.
Live local rates. Johnny Metal Recycling sets the scrap aluminium price against what the Melbourne market is actually paying on the day, not off an international benchmark that doesn’t reflect what happens here.
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. JMR has been buying scrap aluminium in Melbourne for more than six years as a licensed buyer operating under Victorian regulations.
Aluminium scrap we buy at JMR
Window and door frames · shopfront and architectural extrusion · alloy wheels and rims · sheet, plate and fabrication offcuts · guttering and flashing · engine and gearbox castings · cookware and domestic cast · aluminium cable and conductor · radiators · ladders and scaffold sections · boat and marine fittings · solar panel frames · cans.
Johnny Metal Recycling quotes an aluminium scrap price on any condition and any quantity. No minimum if you’re dropping off at the Braeside yard. Free pickup on loads over 500kg.
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 an aluminium scrap price is set.
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.
Aluminium recycling across Melbourne
Johnny Metal Recycling quotes aluminium 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.
Aluminium recycling Melbourne-wide is one of the most compelling cases in the trade. Recycling aluminium uses a small fraction of the energy needed to smelt it from bauxite, and the metal can be reprocessed indefinitely without degrading. The window frames off your renovation will be back in circulation inside months.
Get today's aluminium scrap price
Ring Johnny Metal Recycling on 0449 894 456, tell us what you’ve got and whether it’s sorted, and you’ll have today’s aluminum scrap price in Melbourne in a couple of minutes.
Not sure which grade you’re holding? Describe where it came from — window frames usually mean extrusion, while engine parts are typically cast — 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.
Competitive Prices
Get the best competitive prices for your aluminium scrap, maximizing your earnings with every sale.
Pay On-spot
Receive immediate payment on-spot for your aluminium scrap—fast, hassle-free, and reliable service.
Sustainable Recycling
When you recycle with JMR, you’re making an eco-friendly choice that helps preserve our planet.
Earn Money For Scrap
Turn your aluminium scrap into cash quickly and easily, helping both you and the planet.
Guaranteed Service
Experience guaranteed service with our dedicated team committed to efficient, reliable recycling solutions.
Precise Weighing On-Site
Precise on-site weighing ensures you’re paid accurately and fairly for every scrap of aluminium.
Frequently asked questions
What are the current aluminium scrap prices in Melbourne?
What is the scrap aluminium price per kg?
Why is aluminium cheaper here when world prices are up?
Because Melbourne rates aren’t the world price. The exchange rate, local processor demand and how much stock yards are holding all sit between the benchmark and what you’re paid. Domestic rates averaged $1.93/kg in late August 2026 and fell around 12% over the quarter while the international benchmark rose.
Do I need to remove rubber seals from window frames?
It pays to. Seals, steel screws, hinges and plastic end caps all drop extrusion from top grade toward mixed. Twenty minutes on a trailer load is usually the best-paid twenty minutes of the job.
Do you buy alloy wheels?
Yes. Take the tyre off, pull the steel weights and remove the valve stem, and they sit at the top of the aluminium range. Left with weights attached they get downgraded.
Is it worth bringing in cans?
Only in volume. Cans pay $0.80–$1.50/kg but weigh almost nothing, so a bag or two isn’t worth the trip. If you’ve been collecting for months, bring them.
Is there a minimum quantity for aluminium recycling 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.
How and when does JMR pay?
Bank transfer or cheque, the same day we collect or you drop off. Johnny Metal Recycling doesn’t pay cash, in line with the Victorian rules introduced in 2018.