Doorstep scrap pickup, Delhi NCR
Key points
- Paper, cardboard, metal, plastic, furniture, appliances and electronics are all saleable.
- Broken and non-working items still have value — for their material.
- Keep metals separate: non-magnetic metals are worth more.
- Thermocol, food-soiled plastic and construction debris are generally not bought.
Paper and cardboard
Newspapers, magazines, old textbooks, notebooks, office paper, cartons from online deliveries and appliance boxes. Keep it dry and tie it in bundles.
Metal — the most valuable group
Steel and aluminium utensils, pressure cookers, old gas stoves, iron gates and grills, window frames, cycles, copper wire left over from rewiring, brass taps and fittings.
Use a magnet: if it does not stick, keep that piece apart. Aluminium, copper, brass and stainless steel are all worth more than iron.
Appliances — working or not
Fridges, washing machines, coolers, ACs, geysers, microwaves, mixers, irons, water purifiers and fans. Dead appliances still contain copper, compressors and metal.
Electronics
TVs, computers, laptops, printers, phones, chargers, cables, routers, set-top boxes, inverters and their batteries. Wipe your data from phones and laptops before you hand them over.
Furniture
Steel almirahs, beds, sofas, dining sets, chairs, tables and racks — wooden or metal. Usable pieces may be worth more as furniture than as scrap.
Plastic
Buckets, tubs, broken plastic chairs, crates, bottles and old PVC pipes. Hard plastic is recyclable; thin wrappers and thermocol usually are not.
What usually is not bought
Construction debris (malba), thermocol, dirty food packaging, cloth rags in small quantities and broken glass. Ask if you are unsure — a photo settles it.
Questions
Do kabadiwalas buy old clothes?
Generally not as scrap. Clothes in good condition are better donated.
Will a kabadiwala buy a broken cooler?
Yes. The motor, pump and metal body all have value.
