Recycling Center Means Cash for Customers with Scrap Metal

Cans and other metals are fed into the crusher before they are sent into a bin for recycling.
Cans and other metals are fed into the crusher before they are sent into a bin for recycling.

Those with scrap metals like aluminum, brass or copper lying around in an attic or garage have another place to deposit the treasures..  Commonwealth Recycling, a new business located in the Hollins area of north Roanoke County, pays cash for all metals expect steel.

The recycler accepts tin cans, radiators, stainless steel, batteries and lead. It does not take appliances, but will take the electric motors from appliances.

“Anything that a magnet will not stick to, I’ll take,” owner John Huffman said.

Located on North Commerce, off Industrial Drive in Hollins, Commonwealth Recycling offers customers a way to recycle items that otherwise could end up in the landfill.

Prices for metals vary weekly, and sometimes change daily, so Huffman encourages people to call him prior to loading up.

John Huffman, owner of Commonwealth Recycling in Hollins, shows off the baler used to tie up metals.
John Huffman, owner of Commonwealth Recycling in Hollins, shows off the baler used to tie up metals.

Depending on the metal, customers could receive anywhere from 20 cents per pound to $1.40 per pound, Huffman said. The business opened in November and has seen a steady increase in clientele.

“New customers find me everyday,” he noted. “We already have a decent customer base. People who come in are pretty excited about having a metal recycler [in the northern end of Roanoke].” (Cycle Systems, near downtown Roanoke, also accepts scrap materials).

Huffman’s wife, Theresa, has worked as a dispatcher for Botetourt County for nine years and is assisting her husband on her days off. Setting up shop was relatively easy; all they needed was a large empty space and a few pieces of heavy equipment. They found space in the Hollins industrial sector behind the Pepsi plant.

A baler is used to bind up loose metals for loading. A can crusher crushes aluminum cans and pitches them into a bin so that they can be hauled away as well. The other necessary item is a large scale, used to weigh the precious metals. The Huffmans are from the area and live in Troutville, where they are raising two young sons.

Huffman, a former car dealership manager, learned the business from his father-in-law, who has been recycling metals for more than 30 years.

The timeliness of his move to a new line of work is not lost on Huffman.

“Have you seen the car business lately?” he joked.

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