From Trash to Digital Payouts: Insights from Onbe’s 2025 Scrap & Recycling Survey

Instead of turning trash into cash, today’s recyclers prefer digital payouts when selling scrap metal and other materials. In Onbe’s 2025 Scrap & Recycling Survey, we asked over 450 consumers about their recycling habits and payout preferences. We discovered:

• 68% of recyclers prefer digital payment methods
• Nearly half of respondents do not receive their choice of payment
• 41% sell materials to scrap yards for environmental reasons—a great reason for recycling companies to switch to greener payout options!

Especially given today’s evolving regulatory environment, scrap yards and recycling companies can benefit from offering popular, secure digital options alongside or instead of cash and checks. Download our infographic for more survey highlights.