Got bad news at te scrapyard today

**pcecycle** · 10-26-2013, 04:07 PM

Went to the only close-by scrapyard that takes printers today. As I started to unload, the head guy came out and told me that they were having to drop the price from 8 cents per pound to 6 cents and that they may have to stop taking them altogether. It seems that the bottom has fallen out of the plastic market. He told me that several of his plastic buyers had closed down and the ones that were still buying are hinting that they may soon stop. The word is that China has stopped buying plastic.
I get a lot of printers and usually only tear down the larger ones and take the small, cheap ones in whole. Looks Like I am going to have start removing as much plastic as possible which is a real pain. I know some of you just take a hammer to them but I have neighbors that might complain about the noise. Hope this doesn't last long!

Mike

**mikeinreco** · 10-26-2013, 07:20 PM

I strip most all the printers to the metal and a hammer is not needed..........All these printers have screws and can be taken apart with the right tools.......I prefer this method because hammer is messy and the plastic breaks into little pieces which make cleanup harder

**parrothead** · 10-26-2013, 08:27 PM

Between a cordless drill and a good sized flat blade screwdriver for prying, I can get most of the plastic casing off in under a minute. The hammer is still right there in case I need it. But I have always done this and tossed the plastic in my recycling bin to begin with.

**jghilino** · 10-27-2013, 08:21 AM

when china stops buying plastic you know the world economy is screwed

**happyisthealero** · 10-27-2013, 01:41 PM

I only take apart the heavier printers, and all of the copiers I get, and sell the lighter printers as is.

**Ironhunter** · 10-27-2013, 04:50 PM

From what I gather they currently fill shipping containers with plastic to recycle (as well as steel) as a way to defer the cost of returning the containers to China to be refilled with Iphones and the like. So if they stop buying plastic to recycle into things what do you suppose they are going to put into their transports for the return trip??? an empty container ship is a huge expense.. Just my $.02..

**Mechanic688** · 10-27-2013, 06:04 PM

So if they stop buying plastic to recycle into things what do you suppose they are going to put into their transports for the return trip???

old electronics,

**parrothead** · 10-27-2013, 06:37 PM

There was a time when I was able to buy a 20 foot container dropped at my property (instant shed) for $400. Because there was such a stockpile of empty containers. That imbalance is even worse. If we can fill them on the way back, at least that is a little better than sending them all back empty. Oops, that is what you said, they aren't filling them as much anymore. OK. Tightening my seat belt again.

**unknownk** · 10-27-2013, 08:05 PM

Plenty of printers have some screwy security type screws, you need to get a set of security bits and keep them around. Quite a bit of recycled plastic is used as filler or made into picnic tables where uneven color doesn't matter. I would hate to have China grind up plastic chemical jugs and ship them back here as baby pacifiers or water bottles.

I don't think recycled plastics was ever a major money maker for anyone involved, hard times call for more profitable uses of capital.