Indicative. Final price depends on grade, contamination and quantity, and is confirmed on weighment at pickup.
The rate above is what National Recycling pays for aluminium scrap today in Mumbai and Thane, recalculated daily from live London Metal Exchange aluminium pricing. It represents clean sorted material.
Aluminium punishes careless sorting more than almost any other metal, because the grades look similar and price very differently. A window fabricator’s offcuts and a scrapped engine block are both aluminium, and one is worth substantially more per kilo than the other. If you are selling any volume, the single most profitable hour you can spend is separating the pile before anyone quotes on it.
Aluminium scrap grades
These are the categories that come up in Indian industrial loads, roughly in descending order of value.
| Grade | What it is | How it prices |
|---|---|---|
| Extrusion6063 sections | Window and door sections, curtain wall, partition frames. Mill finish, clean, no glass or rubber. | The top grade. Consistent alloy, melts predictably, so it commands the best price. |
| Anodised or painted extrusion | Same sections but coated or powder-coated. | Below mill finish, because the coating burns off as loss and ash. |
| Sheet and utensil | Rolled sheet, vessels, cookware, panelling, trays. | Good grade if clean. Riveted steel handles and plastic pull it down. |
| Cast aluminium | Engine blocks, gearbox housings, pump bodies, machine castings. | Meaningfully lower. Casting alloys carry silicon and other elements that limit reuse. |
| Alloy wheels | Car and two-wheeler wheels, with tyre and steel weights removed. | Prices well when clean, poorly when the tyre is still on. |
| Aluminium conductorACSR and AAC | Overhead line conductor. ACSR has a galvanised steel core running through it. | Priced on aluminium content. The steel core is dead weight and is deducted. |
| Turnings and borings | Machining swarf from CNC and lathe work. | Lower, because of oil contamination and melt loss. Dry swarf beats oily swarf. |
| Foil and thin gauge | Packaging foil, laminated foil, thin cladding. | Lowest. High surface area means high oxidation loss, and laminate carries plastic. |
The one split that pays. Extrusion and cast are the two biggest buckets in most industrial loads, and the gap between them is wide. Keeping them apart is usually worth more than any negotiation.
Where industrial aluminium scrap comes from
- Window and facade fabricators. Offcuts from cutting sections to size, plus rejected frames. Usually clean 6063, and consistent enough to price confidently.
- Site clearance and refurbishment. Removed window frames, partitions, false ceiling grid, cladding. Mixed condition, often with glass, silicone and fixings attached.
- Engineering and machining units. Turnings, borings, offcuts and rejected components. Volume is steady, which makes it worth setting up a regular collection.
- Automotive workshops. Engine blocks, cylinder heads, radiators, alloy wheels. Predominantly cast.
- Electrical utilities and contractors. Old ACSR conductor from line replacement, busbar, cable. Priced on recoverable aluminium after the steel core.
- Packaging and FMCG. Foil offcuts, laminate reject, container scrap. High volume, low value per kilo.
What moves the aluminium rate
The LME price
London Metal Exchange aluminium is the global reference, and Indian scrap follows it closely. The rate at the top of this page is recalculated from it daily.
Power costs
Primary aluminium is among the most electricity-intensive metals to produce, which is exactly why recycled aluminium is so valuable: remelting uses a small fraction of the energy of smelting from bauxite. When power costs rise, the economics tilt further toward scrap.
The rupee
Aluminium is priced internationally in dollars, so a weaker rupee lifts the rupee scrap rate even on days when the dollar price is flat.
Construction and packaging demand
Indian aluminium consumption is dominated by construction, electrical and packaging. Activity in those sectors feeds straight through to what remelters will pay.
Getting more for your aluminium
- Separate extrusion from cast. This is the big one. Mixed loads price to the lower grade, and the difference across a tonne is real money.
- Strip the non-aluminium. Glass, rubber gaskets, steel screws, plastic thermal breaks. All of it is deducted as weight and some of it makes the load harder to place.
- Keep swarf dry and separate. Oily turnings lose more in the melt. Draining and storing under cover genuinely changes the number.
- Do not mix foil in. A few kilos of laminated foil in a clean extrusion load drags the whole lot down a grade.
How we weigh and pay
Collection is free for business quantities. We bring the vehicle and labour, weigh on site, and payment is calculated against the weighment slip. Grade is agreed before loading. For mixed or high-volume loads we will usually ask for photographs first, or send someone to look, so the grading conversation happens before the vehicle arrives rather than at the weighbridge.
Documentation is standard: weighment record, material-wise breakup, and recycling paperwork suitable for audit and for your own waste reporting.
Other rate calculators
Aluminium scrap questions we get asked
What is the aluminium scrap rate today in Mumbai?
The live figure is at the top of this page, recalculated daily from London Metal Exchange aluminium pricing converted to rupees per kilogram. It reflects clean sorted material. Cast, turnings and foil price below it.
Why is cast aluminium worth less than extrusion?
Casting alloys carry silicon, copper and other alloying elements deliberately added for strength and flow. Those elements cannot easily be removed in remelting, so cast scrap can only go back into casting applications. Extrusion alloy is cleaner and more versatile, so it has more buyers.
Do you buy aluminium with steel or plastic attached?
Yes, but it is priced on recoverable aluminium rather than gross weight, and heavily contaminated material may drop a grade. Window frames with glass still in, or conductor with the steel core intact, are common examples. Removing the non-aluminium before collection usually pays for the labour.
Is aluminium foil worth recycling?
Clean foil, yes, though at the bottom of the range. Laminated foil bonded to plastic or paper is much harder to place because separating the layers is a process in itself. Large volumes of laminate are best discussed before collection.
How much aluminium is in ACSR conductor?
It depends on the conductor size, but the galvanised steel core is a meaningful share of gross weight and is deducted. We quote on the aluminium fraction, which is why conductor rates look lower than solid aluminium rates at first glance.
Is there a minimum quantity?
We work in business volumes rather than household quantities. Send a list or photographs and we will confirm whether it clears our pickup minimum.