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Recently I discovered that different pricing by weight for sending packages via: USPS. I guess I just always assumed that dimension was the only metric that played a role in shipping until you reach the max weight. In hindsight, I realize that I came to this conclusion without consulting the critical thought department in my brain.

Anyways, running with the logic that the price is solely dependent upon the dimension of the package I figured that if I could create more room for other items per shipment, I would be increasing my bottom line for that particular invoice. So for my mixed wired I would cut up to sizes no longer than 3" during down time. It then dawned on me. I don't know what the process is for recovery/recycling with wire. Going even further, I have a vague understanding of the path any material will be on once I sell it off.

[b]So my question for BS is, are there materials that can be broken down too far? For boards, is it acceptable to segment a board like a desktop MB or other larger boards?[/b] Obviously, I can see someone's face getting red with anger if someone were to send in a bag full of copper dust, but what about if someone had a grinder and sent in a bag of chips? I know this is barely a legitimate topic to discuss but I also realize I am not smart enough to be the first to come up with an idea.

Oh… here we go.
lol ;)

I’ve discussed everything here that has been asked—I’ll be back to this thread in a few when I have proper time— about recycling different materials from an insiders’ view. If I don’t know I make a few phone calls and ask.

For a dnd reference, I’ll die on my hill with a broken rusty sword knowing I’m correct in saying anything man can make can be unmade.

Bulk wire is in the same class as plastic and “stainless” steel when it comes to recycling.
It’s difficult.

The generic buyers and “refiners” do exactly what bad scrappers do, burn the wire in a pit and sell it as 0250 copper waste.
With the price of copper today that’s happily rare. Most companies will sell their wire upstream.

Proper recycling of wires involves multiple steps.

Generically—:
First wire longer than 3 inches is automatically sorted by wire width (with jacket on).

After width sort it is run into automated strippers that are literally high air driven gravity drops with a huge knife blade in the hole.

Tumbler machines separate the wires from the plastic enclosure. Plastics (the three most common) are XRF scanned and sorted accordingly.

From there gigantic powerful electromagnets pull out anything ferromagnetic. Fm stainless, steel, nickel, and some bronzes.
The rest moves on as copper or aluminium. (And 400 stainless)

A quick hydrogen Florida chloride bath and then colour separation of aluminium and nickel (white/grey) from copper (red/orange) from bronze (brown). Most large companies will also live stream yet on the red brown and white streams to find silver gold and palladium.
A high end brass like you find in aerospace is almost identical in looks to 14-18kt gold

Across the board with non magnetic wire sources the end metals are compressed into gigantic blocks and put on a pallet. Off to be melted.

On the FM side, things are a bit different.
Wire metal is sorted my colour automatically.
Gold plated steel? If you’re old enough that’s token ring wires.
Clean nickel is $6 per pound today
And silver plated nickel wire is common in A/V and HVAC.


Wait, I’m ranting. What was the original question? Oh… yes, too processed?
That’s a blatant yes and a duh with a facepalm
For boardsort , shredding your materials is gonna get you steel recovery rate. If that.
Selling to an actual refiner (don’t take the first offer there are only 18 in this country, most “refiners” are just upsellers), shredding is the best option you have. They charge a fee by time to breakdown materials. Subtracted from the value of the materials recovered minus 10-25%

If you want to know if you should remove something post it in the what is it and ask if it should be remove. 75% ish of the time the answer is no. It best to be sure.

Don’t want to sell a high telco board for peripheral rate over a single capacitor or bracket!

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I’ve been doing this as long as I was able to understand: this being recycling.
I’ve spoke of that before: as a toddler I would put on a pair of gloves and Alice the family trash with a box cutter and sort recycle from trash.
As a late preteen I deviated and embarrassed my father’s mum by telling her “elite” friends I wanted to be a garbage man for my living. (In my defence my sister, two years younger, wanted to be an elephant).

I took my first tech “job” at 8.
I was a “compensated” non-employee for Sega in my early teens testing games and recording bugs. And eventually fixing those bugs on my own.

I was a guide for AOL, a moderator for CompuServe, and a “master” for prodigy. All as an early teen.

It my love has always been the down-n-dirty of creation.
Closely followed by how can I repurpose or recycle this whatever.


My primary job is security testing in both software and hardware environments.
My joy and love is classic tech. Early computing and analogue electronics.

But as a family 2 gen here now one (mum passed) I am diehard recycled everything.
And with free and paid services we have reached a literal 99.9% recycling rate … sometimes the mystery from the back of the fridge smells too bad to deal with. Trash.

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