Electronic waste recycling making me crazy! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 12:51:01 am
content: It's that time of year again around here....spring cleaning junk days! Pile your old busted up junk on the curb and waste disposal will take it away free of charge. Here's the hitch. NO ELECTRONIC WASTE! If you want to discard old computers, tv's or whatever it has to be brought to the electronic waste disposal center for recycling. If you try to dispose of it any other way or try to do some dumpster diving you can get get a hefty fine from the city. Go to our local drop off and you'll see printers, LCD tv's monitors, dvd players, CRT tv's, entire computers, etc. There's literally thousands of dollars worth of reclaimable hardware in these things that are just going to get sent to a compactor and sold off for pennies on the dollar.So the question is; is it just me that gets really annoyed by this practice and moreover, how prolific has this practice become globally? Seems to me if people were actually concerned about the "green thing" they'd be in favor of people re-purposing all that stuff to the best of their ability.

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:01:13 am
content: Look man it's just a bunch of junk. I mostly buy new parts.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:08:47 am
content: What about put it up on Craigslist as a free item?

author: KC0PPH
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:16:42 am
content: Colorado State Law says that you cant dispose of electronics with your normal trash (what the trash company said to my father when he called up and bitched).In addition our local place charges $20 to take a CRT TV...

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:21:23 am
content: I have learned from experience that scrounging is just removing one pile of junk and making another.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:22:59 am
content: Our local "green" rubbish tip has multiple sections like green waste, timber, metal and household garbage. Out the front they have a small lot were they sell stuff. The 2 heavy duty ex-school benches in my lab came from there and were a steal for $50 delivered, the nice chap there who got to take the work truck home had to drive past my place on the way home so I'm guessing delivery is based on his mood on the dayI asked him why there wasn't more electrical junk for sale and he told me that anything with a mains lead had to be tested and tagged as safe by someone with a certified testing ticket which they didn't have. So it's most likely something to do with safety

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:32:54 am
content: Around here, Friday is our 2nd trash day. It is also recycle day and the first day of yard/garage sales. If I have dead electronics that I don't want to do anything with, I put the stuff on the curb first thing in the morning. The "dumpster divers" take care of it pretty quickly. If not, I get with a fellow technician who has a recycle center close to him and takes the electronics for free. I have had people pick up jacked up computer cases. Makes my life easier.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:54:48 am
content: I have learnt "If in doubt, throw it out". That is, hoarding spare parts is a waste of real estate and a waste of time. Most places send the stuff to third world countries for recycling.About 18 years ago, a well known PC manufacturer crushed about 10,000 very expensive unused high end laptops due to supply exceeding demand. They could have been put to far better use such as donating them to poor students in poor countries, but that is not in the interest of the shareholders.

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 11:27:21 am
content: my last successful dumpster dive I managed to snag 40 power transistors(TO-3 packages and the sockets), opamps of every shape and size, rectifiers, linear regulators, heat sinks in several different sizes, step down transformers, a high power toroidal power transformer, several multiplexers, led drivers, molex connectors, gates, latches, shift registers, half a dozen schmitt inverters, ganged rotary and push button switches from an old console tv. maybe 100 momentary switches, computer cases and power supplies, an entire f'in guitar amplifier minus the speaker! Enough s**t to keep me busy at the bench for a year!This was just what I snagged in one day. And look at all the stuff Dave got from his dumpster dives. I'm sure most of what got pitched could have been easily repaired and now it's going to wind up as landfill somewhere. There's tons of stuff that could be either donated to schools maker groups or whatever that could be put to good use either through repurposing the components or teaching students any number of different repair skills. It just seems like such a complete waste of resources.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 11:34:25 am
content: yeah, it sucks, never had curbside stuff but often free things on kijiji/craigslist, a lot less now that sarcan started taking stuffI used to work at a volunteer computer store that helped out kids who needed computers for school, and they got loads of stuff from the university, sometimes battery backups, analog scopes, big rack power supplies and blade servers, but they closed, and now all that stuff goes to an auction house

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 11:51:46 am
content: Over here it doesn't even go to an auction house. they put it through a big grinder and turn it into mulch, compact it and sell it by the pound to scrap recyclers. people will bin a computer just because it's an old single core intel or athlon with a gig of pc3200 ram and a 20 gig hard drive just because it's not the latest and greatest quad core system. There are people in this world that wish they had something like that. If you don't load them up with bloated trendy software and apps they'll run just fine!

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 12:02:37 pm
content: What frustrates me is that there is so much stuff to throw out/recycle in the first place.It suggests ata) Things aren't built to last, orb) Electronics are merely fashion accessories.It does have the advantage that people like me can often get perfectly good things for free. Most of my electronic stuff is either old or second hand.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 12:05:14 pm
content: It's similar over here. We have to bring e-junk to the local municipal junk yard, but it's free. Actually it's pre-paid by the vendor/importer and you pay for that when buying stuff. The whole e-junk disposal and recycling became big business and the municipal junk yard won't let you take something out of the containers. So you have to get your hands on e-junk before it goes to the junk yard.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 12:16:12 pm
content: Quote from: KC0PPH on May 05, 2014, 02:16:42 amDo you have problems with fly tipping where you live?Even here in the UK where it's free to dispose of most domestic waste, they still charge businesses and that's led to piles of junk appearing in fields and it's the farmers who have to pick up the bill.As far as scavenging is concerned: yes I've done it in the past but I found I was accumulating junk so now I throw most things out or give them away, unless I know I need a certain component.One problem with trash picking components is reliability: it's not worth spending hours fault finding if it's caused by a bad part scavenged from somewhere.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 12:35:42 pm
content: Quote from: steve30 on May 05, 2014, 12:02:37 pmI'd add alsoc) Things are built to be cheap.d) You're ment to throw broken stuff away and not to repair it.Someone in my family got an inexpensive cordless drill with two batteries. The charger died and no spare is available. Luckily just the transformer was broken (primary winding, maybe overtemperature protection, not feasable to repair), but it got a uncommon secondary voltage. So I took a 12V PSU out of the junk box and added a LM2577. Problem solved! Otherwise we would have thown away a perfectly fine drill.

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 02:20:04 pm
content: The only thing I would say is that if something is a power hog, like and old plasma, it is better off being destroyed than reused.You could end up wasting more resources by keeping something inefficient running.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 10:54:14 pm
content: Here is a clip from electronic waste recyclers here in fresno. Certain types of waste they take for free on certain days, otherwise as a business it costs us about ten cents a pound to drop off scrap there. We strip out as much plastic and metal as we can to get the weight down before it goes there. Then in the shredder it goes. Most of it goes to china for processing cause we cant use the recovery leaching chemicals here in the states. Most of it just goes in the landfill over there. Out of sight, out of mind. And that place gets all the high fives and acolades the environmental groups can heap on them. Assholes. When you walk in to pay your tipping fees there is a ten foor tall photo of the owner shaking hands with president obama dedicating this "Green" recyceling center! All freaking hypocrisy.https://www.youtube.com/embed/EKEhUYBkfWI

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 10:59:49 pm
content: Here is another facility.https://www.youtube.com/embed/EKEhUYBkfWI/url]

author: electrolux
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2014, 08:51:14 am
content: Stick them on the EEvblog as FREE item or on freecycle

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2014, 03:07:41 am
content: Quote from: electrolux on May 06, 2014, 08:51:14 amBINGO! Someone is thinking!

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2014, 04:03:02 am
content: There is a town nearby, not my own, unfortunately, that had a good thing going.you brin your stuff there, there is a little shed to put books and things in, and a large space to dump your stuff onto. once a week they would buldoze the area. In the meantime people would drive up, take their stuff out, and others "dropping by" could pick up the stuf. Several times I would see a dumper come out of their car: here is a new cordless phone we don't need, a set of dishes, etc.My friend got several B&O turntables sold within hours on craigslist, and get this:Acoustic research AR-1 loudspeaker, he re sold it to someone many states away for 850.00 Of course we set it up on an amp, and they wanted to be sure it was a ge tweeter, etc.Then campers on lawn chairs arrived , so now they say no loitering, and stuff is bulldozed every night. better than no dump picking at all I guess."fight safety overreach" omg it runs on electricity, prove it is safe before you reuse it law...

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2014, 05:57:33 am
content: Quote from: jh15 on May 07, 2014, 04:03:02 amWatch the Top Gear caravanning episode. They go to a Tip and its freaking unbelievable! Brand new stuff people are just tossing out cause its dusty!

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 02:21:07 am
content: Quote from: calexanian on May 05, 2014, 10:54:14 pmThat video made me cry.sigh.....

author: aroby
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 02:59:05 am
content: There's an electronics recycler down the road from me. They'll sell you stuff if they have it. I got a brand new Sun server rack complete with the power sequencers and power distribution from them for $200! Took 4 guys to get it in the house and into the basement - it weighs about 400lbs. You could have a field day in their warehouse - they are overflowing with crates of computer equipment.Anthony

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 03:10:45 am
content: Quote from: aroby on May 08, 2014, 02:59:05 amElectronics candy store?It would be so nice to see an electronic surplus store in South Dakota.BESIDES Radioshack!

author: electrolux
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 10:11:55 am
content: Quote from: TVman on May 08, 2014, 03:10:45 amThere used to be one here but it's shut down before my time, one of my friends said you could go in there and get anything you like, dirt cheap he used to ha a whole room and the sides were lined with valves. And when you went in there were piles and piles of boxes of knobs, caps resistors you name it amazingly he knew where everything was. It's gone now

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 10:38:27 am
content: Quote from: TVman on May 08, 2014, 02:21:07 amOMG, that and some of the related videos are just sickening... seeing things destroyed like that makes me want to cry too.Also makes me want to put the people who do that through the shredder!

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 11:19:53 am
content: Quote from: amyk on May 08, 2014, 10:38:27 amThe video shows a very good system where they appear to be breaking the PCBs and other parts into separate processing, while shredding the enclosures to break the plastics and metals apart for sorting in a very typical metal/plastic mixed stream. Piles of low cost grey box computers and CRT monitors are entirely worthless so seeing them recycled at that level is very encouraging, rather than being buried.

author: Dr Wobble
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 12:49:27 pm
content: I think the OP needs to get real. Disposal costs money - someone has to pay. If you actually paid the "proper" price of your latest gadget, it would cost a lot more than $99.Here in rural UK our local tip (re cycling facility) has piles of consumer electronics as does any other such place. They used to let folk buy stuff and hence recycle it. Not now ; all items as soon as they on council land are theirs. This is crazy on the one hand as you watch a vintage Marshall head get chucked in with unwanted PC's etc. But understandable in our litigious society.I find my interest in electronics increasingly clashes with my environmental concerns. Electronics as some of may know uses toxic chemicals and processes as well as rare earth elements and all that entails. But that's life nowadays in the 21st century if you have a conscience. Cant use a tantalum cap without worrying about the state of Zaire.I think a lot more much thought needs to go into electronic design as to how the product will be disposed of. The USA is lagging behind us in Europe in this respect.I for one re use components off PCB,s and try and get as much use out of every electronic device. Most of my sound equipment is vintage/second hand and still working, some of it after 60 years.Andy.

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2014, 11:41:58 pm
content: If I get something thats basically going to be scrapped, I only take off the larger pieces. Things like power resistors and power mosfets, and anything with power you can add to the name I guess haha. All the small stuff isnt worth the time. Large stuff though, things like 5W and 15W resistors are certainly worth the short time it takes to yank them off.The large stuff is removed and then the boards stacked into a box after I flatten any remaining parts poking up. Heat sinks are always a nice thing too. People on ebay will buy scrap; not sure the wisdom in them buying though. haha

author: aroby
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2014, 02:08:04 am
content: Quote from: TVman on May 08, 2014, 03:10:45 amIt's mainly computers. They sell some stuff on Craigslist but it's not retail. It's not very safe inside - stuff piled up everywhere. Boxes of disk drives, all sorts of cards and boards, power supplies, RAID arrays. It's amazing what they get from corporate data centers.

author: TVman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2014, 03:11:09 am
content: Quote from: aroby on May 09, 2014, 02:08:04 am

author: justanothercanuck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2014, 10:28:16 pm
content: I have a problem with hoarding PC parts. 5-10 years ago, computers didn't evolve as quickly as it does now, so owning a few Pentium 2/3/4's wasn't such a bad thing.Since Intel started selling their Core i3/5/7 processors, I've finally decided that all my old computers are obsolete. A few years back, I replaced 2 P2/P3 servers and 2 P4 PCs with an i7. In a month or so, I'm probably replacing my P3 router with my last P4. I might save some drive cables for cheap board-to-board interconnects, but besides that, everything else is going in the trash, er, I mean recycling.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2014, 12:06:05 am
content: QuoteYou just need to remember that when they say "go green", or "reduce carbon footprint", they mean "YOU go green", or "reduce YOUR carbon footprint".The "green" industry is about lining the promotors' pockets with green dollars.It has nothing to do with the environment or humanity's future, at all.

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2014, 02:54:46 am
content: Quote from: dannyf on May 11, 2014, 12:06:05 amI used to be an environmentalist when it used to mean protecting the environment. Now it is how much can you make out of it.I am so sick of seeing a bunch of solar panels facing trees. Mean time, the installer makes out like a thief while we tax payers pay and pay and pay.

author: turbo!
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2014, 12:59:47 am
content: And if whats sent for disposal goes into the trend of having high yield components(components of value on the secondary market, yields valuable raw materials, etc) already stripped, the buyback price goes down or disposal fees go up.A carcass of large power distribution transformer yanked out is basically a can full of waste oil. The yield from scrap steel/other valuable materials and the disposal cost of undesirable materials from it factors into what the buy back price or disposal fee is. The labor cost in west is generally too high to bother with tearing things apart for scrap without a demand for whatever components/materials to offset the labor cost.

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 14, 2014, 02:41:09 am
content: So most of this discussion has been about whole devices. What are some good options for disposal of the remnants of hardware that has already been stripped for parts. For example, I've got a few printers here that I've salvaged the motors from (along with a few other minor parts). You often can't reassemble them - so many damned parts and many dozens of screws to keep track of - so it ends up as a pile of plastic and metal parts with some circuit boards that may or may not have had some components removed.I've also been known to take a baseball bat to a TV or DVD player or router or two that was malfunctioning enough to really piss me off.How would that best be disposed of (here in the US)?

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2014, 06:00:29 am
content: Quote from: MacAttak on May 14, 2014, 02:41:09 amI scrapped a few items a while back including a laser printer and a computer. The scrap metal went in a box which got took to the scrap metal recycler, the plastics got broken up and thrown in the trash, the electronics, motors, wiring, screws etc I kept for later salvaging.

author: aroby
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2014, 10:08:11 pm
content: Quote from: turbo! on May 14, 2014, 12:59:47 amThat's why so much gets sent to China, especially from the US. The cost of sending a container from the US to China is pretty low (they have to get them back over there anyway), so they get filled with all sorts of scrap which is then disassembled by hand and recycled. This bookhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EME5MNK/ref=kinw_myk_ro_titleis a good read about that industry.Anthony

author: KC0PPH
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 08, 2014, 03:53:16 am
content: Just put everything in trash bags and put it in the middle of your can... Trash guys could care less if you have a 5g bucket on mercury there... once its dumped in the truck its gone for goo.