Stupid question

Mine go in the regular trash. But I use fewer than 4000 a year, which is fewer than 100 per week.

trash

Scrap bucket

Atavar said:

I have no idea what metals are used in primers so I don’t know whether to discard or recycle them.

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Spent primers can be saved to be recycled like bulk brass/copper.

Cool, I had no idea they could be recycled. I will have to stop throwing mine away.

To bad they aren't a little bigger would be cool to use as gas checks for cast 22cal bullets.

Spent primers contain lead so I throw them away soon as possible. I also cast bullets so want to keep my exposure to lead dust to a minimum.

They all go into jars, and then when I have a bunch of them, I give them to my neighbor who works at a scrapyard and have him pick me up some lead from the scrapyard in place of the primers. It isn't much, but he can normally get me about 2 pounds of lead for every pound of scrap primers he takes with him.

Last time I took spent primers to the scrap yard I came home with $98.00.
I throw them in my scrap bucket.

huh. I've been throwing them away. didn't realize they were recyclable. but them, I give my scrap away. any idea how much a 5 gallon bucket of brass might bring at the scrap yard? (and I know it depends on the weight, and that changes with the calibers in the bucket. I'm just trying to get a rough idea if it's worth going to the yard)

I track them into the house so my wife can step on them barefooted.

I have my press rigged to drop spent primers into an old 8# powder jug... keeping the debris and dust hazard to a minimum. I do recycle my brass, last trip to the scrapper, they paid 1.50/lb for it... a 3gal bucket netted me $45. It doesn't make the house payment, but it's in the plus column, and is easy enough to do.

Twocanary said:

Spent primers contain lead so I throw them away soon as possible.

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Lead in primer gets blown out to coat inside of cases and barrels. So should we throw out spent brass and buy new brass for reloading due to lead dust? Of course not.

How do we treat spent cases to reduce exposure to lead? We handle/process/clean them so as to not breath in lead dust (or work outside with good ventilation) and clean our hands afterwards (or wear gloves).

I put them in a bucket, one day I may recycle them at the dump, but it'd probably cost more in gas than I'd get for the primers. Not sure why I'm saving them.

gonoles_1980 said:

Not sure why I'm saving them.

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I have a bucket that rejected and damaged brass get tossed into along with spent primers. Over the years, the bucket has increasingly became heavier (Probably more than 10 lbs now) and will be added to the trip to the metal recycler one of these days so as to not add anymore cost to fuel with an extra trip.

To me, recycling spent brass has more to do with recycling instead of tossing them in the trash to be added to the landfill. Same reason why I recycle aluminum cans, cardboard and glass bottles.

For me, my scrap brass makes the trip with other recycle items... copper condenser tubes (actually, they are from pool heater heat exchangers...) wire, bronze heater headers, and scrap electric motors (pump motors.) Last trip netted me over $1000. Given the current raw material shortage, I've seen scrap prices paid in each category basically double in 9 months... so it can be worth your while.

Before the last trip, I joked to my wife that my garage looked like Fred Sanford's living room... for those of you old enough to remember Sanford & Son....

I put them into the brass can. My bench is rigged with a 1# Hogdon can that screws into a lid attached to the underside with a 1" hole drilled through to the underside of the press. Catches and contains them well.

Charlie98 said:

wire, bronze heater headers, and scrap electric motors (pump motors.) Last trip netted me over $1000. Given the current raw material shortage, I've seen scrap prices paid in each category basically double in 9 months... so it can be worth your while.

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My sister's family sold their 5 acre CA property and moving to Texas.

During one of many trips to the dump for trash, their "scrap metal" translated to several hundred dollars.

I have several hundred pounds of aluminum stock and thousands of pounds of lead I have been saving over the years and I am thinking it may be time to take some of them along with my collection of damaged brass/spent primers to the recycler. (Don't worry, lead will be kept for bullets/fishing weights/lures to share with shooting friends who do saltwater fishing)

I save mine and add them to the scrap brass bucket. It takes a while for them to add up but its like free money. The last time I had right at 2 gallons of spent primers and 10 gallons of junk brass.

Edited to add, shotgun primers contain steel. Don't mix them with your scrap brass.

Just make sure the shotgun primers are not turned into the scrap yard in the same container. They are mostly steel and you will not get cartridge brass prices for the mixed lot. Last time I took a gallon jug full of primers to the yard it netted me about $24. But that was a couple years ago now.

I save them in an old 4# powder keg until I have enough to fill an empty shot bag, then do so and leave it at the rifle range at the club for all to use.

I save and recycle anything I can, spent primers included. I take and sell them and other metals once I have enough to make the trip worth it. They add up fast! Best wishes

I recycle for another purpose...