Aluminum can bag value

Pick your bag, say whether the cans are crushed flat, and see what a scrap yard is likely to pay.

Use the gallon size printed on the box.
Cans are
Enter what your yard pays today. $0.45 is only a starting example.

Estimated payout per bag

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Enter a price per pound to see an estimate.

These are estimates, not weights or quotes. Real bags vary with how full they are, how the cans are packed, and what else is in the bag. Scrap yards set their own prices and can change them any day, so the payout is never guaranteed. Fill the bag completely for the best accuracy. Estimates run a little low on purpose, so a full bag can pay more than shown.

How this is estimated

Each bag size gets a typical weight for a full bag, then a range of about 2 lb either way (less on small bags). Crushed flat bags hold more cans, so they weigh more than bags of whole cans.

Scrap yards pay by weight, so crushing doesn't raise the price per pound. It only fits more cans in the bag.

These are estimates, not measurements. For an exact number, weigh the bag and multiply by your yard's price per pound.

Sources and how the numbers were checked

Cans per pound: Oregon DEQ's measurement standards use 32 standard 12 oz cans per pound.

Bag weights: the City of Seattle's recycling conversion table lists a grocery bag of aluminum cans at 1.5 lb. Government tables that give weight per cubic yard (about 50 to 75 lb for whole cans, about 250 lb flattened) describe bulk containers, not partly filled bags, so this tool's bag figures are lower on purpose.

Prices: third-party references put typical scrap yard prices for cans at roughly $0.45 to $0.78 per pound in early 2026, and one site's modeled estimate was $0.53 to $0.65 per pound in late September 2026. These are not posted quotes. The $0.45 starting price is only an example at the low end of those figures. Always check your yard's price today.

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Figures and sources last reviewed October 2026.