American Scrap Company has taken in metal and electronics from individuals and businesses since 1993, with locations on East Madison Avenue in Des Moines and in Cedar Rapids. The doors open to anyone with a valid ID during posted hours, Monday through Friday plus a Saturday morning shift in Des Moines, and appointments are needed only for two or more gaylords of material. Metal buying runs from bare bright copper and brass to aluminum radiators, cast iron, and electric motors, plus insulated wire graded by percentage. An e-scrap schedule covers circuit boards, processors, hard drives, laptops, and whole PCs.
Scrap MetalCopperBrassAluminumIronInsulated Copper Wire+4 more
Accepts: Bare bright copper, Copper #1 and #2, Brass, Aluminum, Aluminum radiators, Cast iron, Steel, Electric motors, Compressors, Batteries, Insulated wire, Circuit boards, Processors, Hard drives, Laptops, Whole PCs
Services: Open to the public with valid ID · Posted metal price list · E-scrap buying · Graded insulated wire pricing · Appointments for two or more gaylords
Do I need an appointment at American Scrap Company?
Only for two or more gaylords of material. Otherwise the doors are open to anyone with a valid ID during open hours.
Does American Scrap Company accept electronics?
Yes. It buys circuit boards, processors, laptops, hard drives, and whole PCs, and takes lithium-ion batteries and UPS battery backups without payment.
JP Salvage & Core runs a drive-up collection center at 840 SE 21st Street in Des Moines, one block south of Maury, and serves the metro area, Polk County, and parts of Dallas and Warren counties. Staff help customers unload, and the yard buys ferrous and non-ferrous metal from heavy melting steel and cast iron to bare bright copper, brass, stainless, aluminum cans, radiators, and catalytic converters.
The yard also buys junk cars, trucks, and vans, dismantled with fluids and refrigerants removed under state and federal rules. Vehicle sellers need a title or junking certificate. Containers range from 55-gallon drums to 40-yard roll-offs, and on-site waste removal covers remodeling jobs.
Scrap MetalJunk CarsCopperBrassAluminum CansStainless Steel+4 more
Accepts: Bare bright copper, Copper tubing, Brass, Aluminum cans, Aluminum radiators, Stainless steel, Lead, Catalytic converters, Insulated wire, Heavy melting steel, Cast iron, Sheet iron, Junk cars, trucks, and vans
Services: Drive-up metal collection center · Unloading help · Junk vehicle pickup and drop-off · Roll-off dumpsters up to 40 yards · Containers from 55-gallon drums to pallet boxes · On-site waste removal
Do I need a title to sell a junk car to JP Salvage & Core?
Yes. Vehicle removal or drop off requires a title or junking certificate, and the yard is a state licensed facility.
Does JP Salvage & Core help unload scrap?
Yes. Staff at the 840 SE 21st Street collection center help customers unload.
Scrap Processors Inc buys scrap at 608 SE 30th Street in Des Moines, including ferrous and non-ferrous metal, electronics, batteries, appliances, and vehicles. The company has processed scrap in Central Iowa for more than 75 years and supplies containers and trailers for commercial and industrial jobsites. The yard is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
SPI Appliance Recycling Center at 918 SE 21st Street in Des Moines takes appliances only, unlike the company's SE 30th Street scrap yard. It is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The phone number is 515-263-8000.
appliances
Listed hours: Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Accepts: appliances
Services: appliance drop-off
Does this location take scrap metal or vehicles?
No. Scrap Processors lists this address as appliances only.
Des Moines salvage yard with over 50 years in the business that buys junk, damaged, wrecked, or totaled cars, trucks, SUVs, buses, and semi trucks, including free towing and removal. Used parts are sold through the company's eBay store.
junk car buyerauto salvageused auto parts
Accepts: Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Buses, Semi trucks
Services: Vehicle buying with free towing and removal · Used auto parts sales via eBay
The Des Moines yard is U Pull It's Iowa location on Northeast 44th Avenue. It shares the company's self-service format, letting customers bring tools and pull parts from vehicles listed in the shared online inventory.
u-pull yardself servicejunk car buyerdes moines ia
Vander Haag's Des Moines is at 4444 Delaware Ave, Des Moines, IA 50313. The company says this store has its largest showroom, with a storage and shop area over 20,000 square feet and more than 15 acres of salvage-unit storage. Work listed for this shop includes frame alterations, engine rebuilding, power steering, transmissions, rear ends, and drive shaft fabrication.
Based on the listings above, materials commonly handled in Des Moines include Scrap Metal, Copper, Brass, appliances, junk car buyer. Browse the guides below for preparation tips, scrap values, and what's recyclable.
Des Moines uses a blue recycling cart, picked up every other week on the same weekday as the garbage, on a yellow week or an orange week. The sticker on the lid tells you which. Carts can go out at 5 p.m. the evening before and have to be at the curb by 7 a.m., then back within 12 hours. An extra blue cart is free. Yard waste is collected every week, including winter. Iowa's bottle deposit refund is 5 cents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can go in the Des Moines blue cart?
Newspaper, magazines, junk mail, flattened cardboard, paper and hardcover books, and phone books. Shredded paper has to be in a paper bag. Also paper milk, juice, soup, and wine cartons. Plastic containers with twist-off lids, mostly numbered 1 or 2, including rinsed soap bottles. Keep the lid on or throw it away. Aluminum, tin, steel, and empty aerosol cans, plus jar lids. Glass food, beverage, and non-food containers of any color. Rinse them. Labels can stay.
What does Des Moines refuse in the blue cart?
Plastic bags, Styrofoam, hoses, yogurt and margarine tubs, berry containers, Tupperware, convenience-store cups, toys, electronics, foil, pots and pans, glittery wrap, wiring, pizza boxes, coated coffee cups, tissues, paper towels, photos, clothing, appliances, furniture, pipes, and light bulbs. A container that held motor oil or antifreeze stays out. Wrapping paper that tears like paper is recyclable. Ribbons, foil wrap, bows, and hard plastic shells are not.
When is the Des Moines cart due, and what if the truck misses it?
No earlier than 5 p.m. the day before, and by 7 a.m., within 18 inches of the street, metal bar facing the street, lid closed, 3 feet from carts, mailboxes, fences, and poles, and not under a low branch. Call (515) 283-4950 before 5 p.m. the next day if it was missed. A report after that, or a cart set out after 7 a.m., can add a $25 fee to the Des Moines Water Works bill. The cart stays with the address when you move.
Where does extra cardboard go in Des Moines?
110 SE 6th Street, open 24 hours, boxes broken down. The same kind of dumpster is at the East Side Library on Hubbell Avenue, the Franklin Avenue Library, and the South Side Library on Porter Avenue. A second recycling cart is free from that same 24-hour line. Iowa refunds 5 cents on a covered container. A Rhode Island comparison current as of August 2026 still lists that amount.
Recycling tips for Des Moines
•Blue cart, yellow week or orange week, same weekday as the garbage.
•Out after 5 p.m. and by 7 a.m. The metal bar faces the street.
•Shredded paper needs a paper bag. Everything else stays loose.
•Yogurt tubs and pizza boxes are trash.
•A missed truck has to be reported by 5 p.m. the next day.
Recycling centers near Des Moines
The closest recycling centers in neighboring areas: