Scrap yard vs carbide buyer: what each does with your carbide

It varies by yard, and we found no source that says which yards buy carbide or how they price it, so call first and ask whether they take carbide and in which forms. Cemented carbide combines very hard metal carbides, mainly tungsten carbide (WC), with a tough metal binder such as cobalt, nickel or iron; carbide inserts, drills and end mills are made of it.

OSHA's 2008 scrap recycling guidance divides scrap into ferrous metal, which contains iron, and nonferrous metal, and it files exotic metals with cobalt, titanium or tungsten under nonferrous.

A 2005 USGS report (data year 2000) notes that tungsten-bearing scrap prices are not published on a routine basis, and we found no published ReMA grade for carbide in the recycling trade group's scrap specifications.

Sources: ITIA, Cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter); OSHA 3348, Metal scrap recycling (2008); USGS Open-File Report 2005-1028; ReMA Specifications.

Recyclers look at three things: hard or soft, how clean, and how much tungsten. Hard scrap is solid carbide: worn inserts (small replaceable cutting tips clamped or screwed into a steel holder), end mills and drills ground from carbide rod, dies and wear parts. Soft scrap is grinding or cutting sludge, sweepings, powders and turnings.

Zeiler et al. (2021) report that most soft scrap and most unsorted hard scrap go through chemical conversion, and ITIA says the zinc process turns sorted, cleaned carbide scrap into powder of the same composition. Zeiler et al. call scrap quality the most important prerequisite for that process.

Coatings and solders must come off before zinc reclaim, so a brazed tool (a carbide tip bonded to a steel shank with braze or solder) needs its solder removed first. Oil and other impurities often send grinding sludge to chemical recycling (Pacini et al., 2023).

The most common grades are about 85 to 95% tungsten carbide and 5 to 15% cobalt (Pacini et al.), and ITIA, the tungsten industry association, puts the tungsten share of inserts typically above 80%. Zeiler et al. say metal concentration plays a crucial role in whether recycling is viable.

Sources: ITIA, Recycling of tungsten part 2 (Aug 2019 newsletter); ITIA, Recycling of tungsten part 1 (May 2018 newsletter); Zeiler et al. 2021, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 98; Pacini et al. 2023, Materials 16(4):1347; King Saud University metal cutting lecture (2010 textbook); ITIA, Cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter).

The question to put to either buyer is whether your carbide is kept apart from steel. Zeiler et al. describe a worn drill head, mostly steel by weight, that may end up in a steel scrap tray and be used to make structural steel, its tungsten and cobalt diluted and lost.

USGS described US scrap processors around 2000 hand-sorting solid pieces by alloy using color, shape and weight, then spark, chemical or magnet checks where needed. We have no source on how any yard sorts or prices carbide today, so ask whether it keeps carbide apart and pays a carbide rate or puts it in a mixed grade.

A specialist deals mainly in carbide. Zeiler et al. note that scrap traders actively collect carbide cutting-tool scrap and that large producers offer buyback programs that take back used carbide (how those work). Its terms are its own too, so put the same questions to it.

Sorting helps with either buyer: Zeiler et al. say pre-sorting by the end user raises recycling efficiency.

Sources: Zeiler et al. 2021, Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 98; USGS Open-File Report 2005-1028.

State scrap metal laws set their rules for junk dealers, recyclers and scrap metal dealers or processors as each statute defines them, and none of the statutes we read names carbide or tungsten. A November 10, 2022 Arizona Senate research brief says all 50 states have passed laws against metal theft, so ask any buyer what ID and records your state requires.

• California: the record rules cover all ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals and alloys, a definition that names stainless steel and nickel but not tungsten carbide. Buyers record your name and ID, such as a driver's license, and keep records at least two years. The stricter nonferrous payment rules cover only copper, copper alloys, stainless steel and aluminum.
• Arizona: the scrap metals definition names only cables and scrap vehicles. With some exceptions, scrap metal sales of $300 or more are not paid on site but by check or money order mailed to the address on your ID. Scrap from a reportable sale over $100 is held seven days after the dealer's report, except for industrial accounts (monthly transaction privilege tax filers expected to generate the scrap they sell), other dealers, aluminum cans and ferrous metals.
• Nevada: the scrap metal definition does not name tungsten or carbide, and a scrap metal processor pays for purchases of $150 or more only by check or electronic transfer.
• Ohio and Illinois: under rules in effect from October 6, 2026, Ohio dealers record every article bought with a copy of the seller's ID, the seller's photo and a licensed-scale weight; Illinois' law covers only copper, brass, aluminum and catalytic converters.

These notes say what each statute covers, not whether it reaches your carbide, so ask each buyer which rules apply. We pay cash where state law allows it.

Sources: Arizona Senate issue brief, Scrap metal (Nov 10, 2022); California AG Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-12; California AG, Secondhand dealer laws (2012); California AB 1508, Chapter 531 (2012); A.R.S. 44-1641; A.R.S. 44-1642; A.R.S. 44-1644; NRS chapter 647; Ohio Revised Code chapter 4737; 815 ILCS 325/2.

NIST Handbook 44, now in its 2026 edition, is the scale code NIST says all 50 states have adopted. NIST also says a scale must be inspected and approved by an authorized state body before commercial use.

• The display: a scale used in direct sales must let you read it and watch the weighing from a reasonable customer position.
• Zero: with no load it must show a zero balance, so look before your bucket goes on.
• The seal: California's Division of Measurement Standards says to look for a round approval seal showing its last inspection. Arizona bars unlicensed or uncertified commercial devices, and Nevada's weights and measures rules follow NIST's as far as practicable.

In its advice on buying a commercial scale, NIST calls an active NTEP Certificate of Conformance the most important point, as proof the scale complies. No source we read gives sellers a right to see it, but you can ask.

Sources: NIST Handbook 44, current edition; NIST Handbook 44 (2026), General Code; NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Scales Code; NIST weighing and scales FAQ (Mar 6, 2026); CDFA Division of Measurement Standards, devices; A.R.S. 3-3451; NRS chapter 581.

Ask both the same questions and note the answers.

A deduction is what a buyer takes off the weight or price for anything that is not clean carbide. Get each one in numbers: a high price per pound with large deductions can leave you less than a lower price with none.

Sources: ITIA, Recycling of tungsten part 2 (Aug 2019 newsletter); Pacini et al. 2023, Materials 16(4):1347.

Get a written offer from a yard and one from a specialist, then enter both in the offer comparison calculator with the same weight, each price, deduction and fee, and the shipping you would pay. Compare the payout left at the end, not the price per pound.

Our side of it: we take scrap carbide of any form and brand, cover the shipping from every US state, come to you in any city in California, Arizona and Nevada, and pay cash where state law allows. To add our offer, give us the form, a rough weight and a few photos through the quote form, or email help@carbidebuyersusa.com. Where to sell carbide sets out the other buyers too.