Aluminium: Metal of the Month

Aluminium is the most abundantly produced non-ferrous metal in the world and the most ubiquitous non-ferrous material in UK construction. Light, strong, corrosion-resistant and almost infinitely recyclable, using only 5% of the energy required for primary production, aluminium has earned its place across automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and electrical engineering. The UK currently faces a structural increase in aluminium scrap volume as the post-Grenfell ACP cladding replacement programme works through the national building stock, with 5,025 buildings identified for remediation and an estimated 12,000 in total scope.

What Aluminium Actually Is

Aluminium is a silvery-white, lightweight, ductile metal with the chemical symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density of approximately 2.7 grams per cubic centimetre, roughly one-third that of steel, and forms a self-passivating oxide layer that provides excellent corrosion resistance. Pure aluminium is soft; commercial aluminium is alloyed with silicon, magnesium, copper, manganese or zinc to achieve the strength, formability or corrosion resistance required for specific applications. UK industry uses aluminium in extruded window and door profiles, cast engine and wheel components, rolled sheet for cladding and bodywork, and UBC (used beverage can) packaging.

Where It Comes From

UK aluminium scrap arises from automotive end-of-life (cast engine blocks, wheels, body panels), construction strip-outs (window and door frames, cladding, curtain walling), packaging (UBC drink cans), white-goods retirements (washing machine drums, appliance trim), and the ongoing post-Grenfell ACP cladding remediation programme. Marine and aerospace decommissioning yield high-grade aluminium alloys. Aluminium foil and trays from food packaging constitute a separate consumer stream. Construction extrusion offcuts from window and curtain wall fabricators provide a steady commercial source.

How We Grade It

UK scrap yards grade aluminium into four principal trade categories. Cast/Tense is cast aluminium engine and wheel scrap. Extrusion/Tata is clean aluminium window and curtain-wall extrusion. Iron-Aluminium is aluminium with iron or steel attached (riveted brackets, bolted assemblies). UBC/Taldon is used beverage cans. ISRI/ReMA specialty grades include Tale and Tablet (clean alloy turnings), Talk (clean mixed old alloy), Teens (iron-aluminium), and Taint-Tabor (painted aluminium). Higher-grade clean alloys trade materially above mixed and iron-contaminated grades.

What Contaminates a Load

Steel rivets, bolts and brackets still attached to extrusion, plastic and rubber gaskets, glass fragments in window frames, paint and powder-coating residue, and oil contamination on cast scrap all reduce the grade. The most expensive contamination is mixing cast and extrusion in one container, which defaults the load to the lower of the two rates. ACP panel scrap with a bonded polyethylene core requires specific handling under post-Grenfell remediation protocols.

What Affects the Price

Aluminium pricing tracks the LME aluminium contract, quoted in US dollars per tonne. UK weighbridge settlement accounts for the alloy grade, contamination level, the sterling exchange rate, and the cost of remelting and refining. Cast aluminium settles below extrusion because cast alloys typically contain higher levels of silicon and impurities, requiring more refining. UBC settles at a distinct rate, driven by the closed-loop can-to-can recycling chain. Clean segregation by grade type captures the live LME-linked rate.

Bring It to Dunmow

We accept all aluminium grades at our three Essex weighbridges: Chelmsford, Colchester (Brightlingsea), and Clacton. We offer calibrated weighing, grade-by-grade ticketing, electronic same-day payment, and full SMDA 2013 compliance. For continuous trade volumes, open a trade account and we will deliver RoRo containers to site.

For full technical detail, see our Aluminium Grades pillar article on the Dunmow Group blog.

Chelmsford: 01245 466646 | Clacton: 01255 360031 | Colchester: 01206 307070 | dunmowgroup.com | WhatsApp: 07902 802802