# Selling scrap metal in Mexico

Markdown version of https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/sell-scrap-metal. Updated on 2026-11-12.

To sell your company's scrap you list the lot with photos, a rough quantity and the address, get a written offer and, if you accept it, the buyer picks it up, weighs it on a weighbridge and pays you by bank transfer. Three documents set a formal sale apart: the CFDI invoice, the weighbridge ticket and the Carta Porte.

## How it works, step by step

1. **You list the lot**: Photos, type of material, rough quantity and pickup address. If you do not know what the material is, a photo is enough for us to grade it.
2. **You get the offer**: At Bluegreen it arrives within 24 hours of the lot being listed, in writing and with the price itemized.
3. **Pickup is scheduled**: If you accept, a day is set. Pickup is done with our own trucks.
4. **It is weighed**: On a certified weighbridge. Net weight is gross minus tare, and every ticket is kept with a photo.
5. **It travels with a Carta Porte**: Every haul carries its CFDI with the Carta Porte 3.1 supplement[^sat-cp].
6. **You get paid**: By bank transfer after weighing, with the operation invoiced as a CFDI 4.0. No cash.

We buy in every state of Mexico and also assess projects abroad. If what you have is a whole structure or a vessel, the process is different: see [industrial dismantling](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/industrial-dismantling) and [ship recycling](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/ship-recycling).

## What to have ready before asking for an offer

- **Photos.** Close ups of the material and a shot of the whole pile, with something for scale. That is how the material and its grade are identified.
- **Rough quantity.** In kilos or tonnes, or in pieces and sizes. It does not have to be exact: what gets paid is the weighbridge weight.
- **Address and access.** Where pickup happens, whether a trailer can get in, whether there is a forklift or crane and when loading is possible.
- **Tax ID and tax details.** The CFDI carries the RFC tax ID, name or legal name and the postal code of the tax address[^cff]. The tax status certificate (constancia de situación fiscal) has them exactly and prevents rejected invoices.
- **Where the material comes from.** That the scrap comes from your process, from retired equipment or from your own works. Why this is asked is explained below.

## How the price is set

The price of a lot comes from four variables you can check one by one. Bluegreen itemizes them in the offer.

| Variable | What it measures | Why it moves the price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Material and grade | Which metal it is and which grade of the standard classification it fits | Each grade has its own market. See [steel grades](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/steel) |
| Real net weight | Gross minus tare on a certified weighbridge, with a photo of every ticket | You are paid for what the metal weighs, not an estimate |
| Distance and access | Kilometres to destination and how easy it is to load | Freight and handling come out of the material's value |
| Weekly reference | Where the metal market stands in the week of purchase | Metals trade daily. See [what moves prices](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/scrap-metal-prices) |

The current reference per kilo and per tonne, with its date, is on [scrap metal prices](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/scrap-metal-prices).

## What lowers the price of your scrap

- **Mixed metals.** Every ferrous grade must be free of non ferrous metals[^rema-specs], and No. 2 copper must be free of brass and bronze[^vender-rema-nf]. A mixed lot drops a grade or has to be sorted first.
- **Copper inside steel.** Copper does not come out in the furnace, and too much of it makes steel crack when hot rolled[^daehn-cu]. That is why motors, cable and bronze parts are pulled out of the iron.
- **Dirt, plastic, wood and rubber.** Every grade must be free of foreign material[^rema-specs]; anything that is not metal is deducted as loss.
- **Oil.** Turnings must come without excessive oil[^rema-specs]. Drained, they fetch more.
- **Oversized pieces.** Each heavy melting grade sets a maximum piece size[^rema-specs]. Anything bigger has to be cut.
- **Insulation.** Insulated cable is not paid as bare copper: it is sold on recovery or by sample[^vender-rema-nf].

## What is not bought

Some materials a formal buyer will not take, for safety or legal reasons. Bluegreen does not buy:

- Tanks, cylinders or pressurized containers that have not been cut open and vented.
- Containers with chemical residue, oil or fuel.
- Material suspected of being radioactive.
- Ammunition, explosives or fireworks of any kind.
- Scrap without proof of legal origin.

> **Why radioactivity and origin matter** Radioactive sources end up in scrap when they are abandoned, lost or stolen[^desmantelamiento-epa-rad]. In 1983, in Ciudad Juárez, a cobalt 60 radiotherapy unit was sold as scrap; the contaminated steel was melted into rebar and table legs, and it was found when a truck carrying that rebar set off a radiation alarm in the United States[^vender-orau-juarez]. On origin: under Mexico's federal criminal code, whoever receives the proceeds of a crime without taking the precautions needed to make sure the seller could dispose of them also commits an offence, with the penalty cut by up to half[^vender-cpf]. If in doubt, send a photo before loading.

## Which documents the buyer owes you

- **CFDI 4.0**: The invoice for the operation in XML and PDF, with the exact tax details of both parties[^cff]. It is what proves the sale to the SAT, Mexico's tax authority.
- **Weighbridge ticket**: With folio, date, gross, tare and net weight. Scales used in trade are subject to verification, and anyone affected by a weighing can ask to check the procedure[^lical][^nom-010].
- **Carta Porte**: The CFDI with the Carta Porte 3.1 supplement that covers transport on federal highways[^sat-cp]. Moving goods without it leads to a presumption of smuggling[^cff].

At Bluegreen all three stay in the lot file, together with the impact certificate when the lot is steel or stainless. See [reports](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/reports).

## The VAT withholding

If the buyer is a company that buys it as an input or to resell it, it withholds 100% of the VAT charged on your invoice and pays it to the SAT[^liva][^rliva]. In practice, the payment you receive is the subtotal: the buyer withholds the VAT and pays it over. The rule covers all materials from recycling ferrous and non ferrous metals, however they are described on the CFDI[^rmf-2026]. Articles, deadlines and the other rules are on [regulation](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/regulation).

## Which materials are bought

| Material | Examples | Guide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Carbon steel | Plate and structural, HMS 1 and 2, sheet and offcuts, turnings, tinplate | [Steel and scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/steel) |
| Iron | Cast iron and pig iron | [Steel and scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/steel) |
| Stainless | 304, 316 and 430 | [Steel and scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/steel) |
| Copper | No. 1 and No. 2 copper, cable | [Copper scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/copper-scrap) |
| Aluminum | Extrusions, cans and radiators | [Aluminum scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/aluminum-scrap) |
| Bronze and brass | Valves, bushings and castings | [Bronze and brass scrap](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/bronze-and-brass-scrap) |

## Frequently asked questions

### Where can my company sell scrap metal?

To a buyer that weighs on a weighbridge, invoices with a CFDI 4.0 and moves the load with a Carta Porte. Bluegreen buys in every state of Mexico: you list the lot and get an offer within 24 hours.

### Do you pick up scrap at my plant?

Yes, with our own trucks. Distance and access are part of the price and are itemized in the offer.

### How and when do I get paid?

By bank transfer, after weighing. No cash.

### How do I know the weight is right?

Net weight is gross minus tare on a certified weighbridge, with a photo of every ticket. Scales used in trade are subject to verification[^lical][^nom-010].

### What do I need to sell scrap?

Your tax ID and tax details for the CFDI[^cff], ideally with the tax status certificate, and the means to show the material belongs to your company.

### Will VAT be withheld?

If the buyer is a company that buys it as an input or to resell it, yes: it withholds 100% of the VAT charged[^liva][^rliva]. Details are on [regulation](https://bluegreenmaterials.com/en/regulation).

### Do you buy mixed scrap?

It is assessed lot by lot, but it pays less than sorted scrap, because each grade must be free of other metals[^rema-specs].

### What if I do not know what material I have?

Send a photo through the form and we will grade it.

## Sources

[^sat-cp]: Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT), «Complemento Carta Porte» (2026). https://wwwmat.sat.gob.mx/consultas/68823/complemento-carta-porte-
[^cff]: Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentes, «Código Fiscal de la Federación, arts. 29-A, 84 y 103» (vigente). https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CFF.pdf
[^rema-specs]: Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), «ReMA's ISRI Specifications Circular, Ferrous Scrap Guidelines (FS-2023)» (2026). https://www.isrispecs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-July-ReMA_ISRI_Specifications.pdf
[^vender-rema-nf]: Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), «ReMA's ISRI Specifications Circular, Guidelines for Nonferrous Scrap (NF-2025), Red Metals» (2026). https://www.isrispecs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-July-ReMA_ISRI_Specifications.pdf
[^daehn-cu]: Environmental Science & Technology (ACS), «Daehn, Cabrera Serrenho and Allwood, How Will Copper Contamination Constrain Future Global Steel Recycling?, 51(11):6599 a 6606» (2017). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28445647/
[^desmantelamiento-epa-rad]: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), «Radiologically Contaminated Scrap Metal (Radiation Protection, sitio archivado)» (s. f.). https://archive.epa.gov/radiation/source-reduction-management/web/html/scrapmetal.html
[^vender-orau-juarez]: Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), «Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Museum Collection: Contaminated Rebar from Juarez» (s. f.). https://orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/accidents/contaminated-rebar-from-juarez.html
[^vender-cpf]: Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentes, «Código Penal Federal, art. 400, fracción I (última reforma DOF 13 de marzo de 2026)» (vigente). https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CPF.pdf
[^lical]: Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentes, «Ley de Infraestructura de la Calidad, arts. 119 a 123» (2020). https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LICal_010720.pdf
[^nom-010]: Diario Oficial de la Federación, «NOM-010-SCFI-1994, instrumentos de medición para pesar de funcionamiento no automático» (1994). https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/387049/NOM-010-SCFI-1994_31_de_agosto_de_2018.pdf
[^liva]: Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentes, «Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado, art. 1o.-A» (vigente). https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LIVA.pdf
[^rliva]: Cámara de Diputados, leyes federales vigentes, «Reglamento de la Ley del IVA, art. 3» (vigente). https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/regley/Reg_LIVA_250914.pdf
[^rmf-2026]: Diario Oficial de la Federación, «Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal para 2026 (reglas 2.7.3.5, 2.7.7.1.1 a 2.7.7.2.8, 4.1.1 y 4.1.2)» (2025). https://dof.gob.mx/2025/SHCP/SHCP_281225_01.pdf